It is with sadness I write this column expressing my opinion about events that continue in the culture of today. It was on Twitter that I learned of the sudden death of a 27 year old entertainer. Word was cautious at first about the death of Amy Jade Winehouse, but soon, celebrities and many other people began to express their opinions about the life and struggles of the young singer. Later in the day, Judy Farah, known on Twitter as “newsbabe1530” left the following tweet, “The 27 Club, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, now Amy Winehouse, all dead at 27.” As the tweets continued, I thought of the young age of those listed; Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin, Jones, Cobain and Winehouse never lived to see their 28th birthday. The use of the names of the entertainers listed above is not to suggest that it is only in the music or entertainment field where people die young as a result of drug abuse. A similar list could be made in almost every vocation and career field. As the music and entertainment industry struggles to find answers to the inner issues that each of those listed have dealt with, I was reminded of a quote from Voltaire, when he said, “What a heavy burden is a name that has become famous too soon.” The question arises then; can we blame the struggles these entertainers had on their fame? Benjamin Franklin said, “Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” Other questions can then be asked concerning these untimely deaths. “Are these struggles of addiction a mark of immaturity and only made by the young?” Another question is relevant to our discussion, “Why doesn’t someone wiser or older step in to stop this self-destructive behavior?” For every question asked in recent days there are many answers. There are those who would defend with great passion the position that tells us the addiction to self-destructive behavior is not the fault of the person addicted. Other people could step forward to lay the blame upon society and the stresses under which we are required to live today.
Help is available for any who find they are struggling with addictions. With the development of the Internet, we are discovering an addiction to pornography that is ruining lives in every career field. Society has known for many years the addictions of drugs and alcohol. There are self-help programs, recovery programs, private counselors with a Christian perspective, public health programs, government drug substitution programs, and others who have made a lifetime vocation of seeking to help any and all who is addicted to some substance or way-of-life that will lead to self-destructive behavior.
Families and friends of those who are caught in the trap of addiction and have become slaves to their personal inner struggles, spend many hours and money trying to find ways to assist the people they love in order to change their behavioral pattern of self-destruction. There is nothing as helpless as a person trying to assist a loved one dealing with the types of issues as young Amy had. Reports tell that Amy Winehouse had tried several different rehab treatments, none of which brought about the desired result of freedom from her addictive drug use. She once told a reporter: “I’m of the school of thought where if you can’t sort something out for yourself, no one can help you. Rehab is great for some people but not for others.”
Before we throw a righteous pointed finger into the face of the young and immature, let us all realize that we could also be caught in this same trap of self-destructive behavior. Before we lecture those who are addicted, let us seek the source of the behavior and do all we can to encourage a recovery program that will change the way-of-life of the addict. Communicating love and support as early in life as possible to the ones we love can go a long way toward having success as the temptations of drug, alcohol, and other destructive behaviors are dangled before the eyes of the young. Some people reading this column will push back telling of years of love and support that fell on deft ears as the behavior of the addict grew more severe with each new event.
Too many die too young as a result of addictive self-destructive behavior.
Ray Newman
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