Saturday, February 17, 2007

What I Believe

Like everyone else I think that it is time to do a post on this random drug testing issue. I am in favor of the idea of random drug testing on the high school level. I know that this is a very divisive issue, but this is the main reason I am in favor of it. I am also totally in favor of an abstinence based sex education program.

This is an excellent tool to help my peers say no. It is very easy for the school to say that all they need to do is educate us on this issue, but in reality it's more than that. There is immense peer pressure in our schools today. Even if you are a "good kid" who normally wouldn't even think of doing something like drugs, the desire to fit in and be accepted can overrule all at times.

So many kids in the school system today are searching for acceptance in one way ore another. I am fortunate to come from a family who has always loved me and supported me. Many of my peers for one reason or another do not have this unconditional love and acceptance. Even if you do have a strong family, there is so much emphasis placed on fitting in at school. It is so easy to feel alienated. I can tell you from personal experience that going to school everyday and feeling like you have no friends and like you don't fit in at all can drive people to do things that they would not normally do.

It is very easy to start hanging out with the wrong people simply because they accept you. For some people the need to be accepted will cause them to allow themselves to be pressured into drugs as well as sex. I feel like this is a very important tool to help these people to say no. It is currently not extremely hard for a student to become involved with drugs and for nobody to find out. This gives the students who aren't necessarily strong enough to stand on their own a tool to help them stand.

I also feel that an abstinence based sex-ed program is definitely the right thing to do. This will teach students that they can say no. This is contrary to the system we have right now which teaches what to do when you have sex. This is not something that you have to do and I feel that my peers need to be taught this.

I hope that all this makes sense because it is rather late. I definitely don't think that this is a closed issue. My dear Uncle has raised some questions about whether or not the random drug testing is constitutional. For right now the Supreme Court has ruled that it is constitutional, however, this is also the Supreme Court that continues to allow legalized murder.

I don't have any answers really, but I think that this is something that we all need to continue praying about.

4 comments:

Laura said...

You know you wanna eat some prunes!!!;-)

Yeah, I agree with you and admire your enthusiasm~!

Billy said...

I love your passion on this issue and I am very proud of you for standing for what you believe. And yes, you were much more eloquant at the school board meeting. Keep it up!!!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you. It bothers me that I found out a few months ago, some of the kids in my class drink excessivly. THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE DRINKING AT ALL! THEYR'E NOT OLD ENOUGH! I think all three of these things should be dealt with through discussions provided by each school in our country and even around the world.

KK

Sandman said...

Hey I agree completely, I hate it when people don't follow the very simple rules laid down in front of them. But you can't say that the whole problem lies in the families people need to make choices of their own. Generally, people are weak and give in to their peers who are equally foolish. The people who promote behavior aren't going to change even with new school programs. If these people don't change their followers won't either, if you get what I am saying it is a domino effect. As I said on my blog listen to "Subdivisions" by Rush, you could possibly appreciate it even though it is classic rock. So basically I like your enthusiasm but it seems nearly impossible to fix any of the problems without completley cutting off contact between teenagers.

-Storm-