1. A 21 year-old soldier being shot at in Iraq.
2. A 21 year-old college student driving home one night.
Which one? Most would assume the first, but that is not what happened in my family.
My nephew Ben has now left Iraq after a year of service there and is currently in Kuwait being debriefed. He will be returning to Germany and will soon be discharged.
My nephew Cody is dead. Cody is not dead because of his own doing, but at the hands of another. On September 16, 2001 he and seven of his friends were returning back to Laramie, WY where they attended the University of Wyoming. That weekend they were supposed to be at a cross country competition but because of September 11 their race was cancelled. They started their day with a long, successful run in the mountains just outside of Laramie. Elated by their times, they decided to spend the rest of the day together enjoying what they had accomplished that morning. They drove down to Ft. Collins, CO and went shopping and out to eat. Driving back to Laramie the SUV they were all in was struck by another UW student and my nephew and all seven of his friends were killed. The other student lived and was driving drunk, very drunk, 3 times the legal limit drunk.
The following days brought great anguish. The more we learned about the accident, Clint Haskins (the drunk driver), and the State of Wyoming (stay out of Wyoming) the more enraged we became. Losing someone you love is devastating, losing someone you love at the hand of another is indescribable.
So here's the test to all of you. How do you feel about the war in Iraq? Have you ever been guilty of drinking and driving? How would you feel if you lost someone you love to a drunk driver? How would you feel if I told you that there are roughly 17,000 Americans killed every year at the hands of drunk drivers? How would you feel if I reminded you that since the beginning of the Iraq war there have only been 1,500 American soldiers killed? And how would you feel if I called you a hypocrite? It's apparent to me that drinking and driving is definitely a much bigger issue than the war in Iraq. I think that for all of you that are against the war need to take a look in the mirror and see if there's a log in your eye. If a small percentage of the effort individuals were placing into protesting the war was redirected to combat a serious domestic issue the number of deaths caused by this epidemic would dramatically decrease.
If anyone who has ever been guilty of drinking and driving could have seen what we had to endure, they would forever loathe themselves for having ever taken those risks. I have deep hatred in my heart for anyone who drinks and drives, I believe that there is a special place in Hell for these people. Spread the word, take responsibility for your actions, get a f**king designated driver! I am often sickened by what others constitute as important, grow up!
**Just Because You Have The Right To Do Something Does Not Mean That It's The Right Thing To Do**
Posted by Stacy at February 24, 2005 09:15 AM | TrackBack