Hold up 'Merica.

This is a direct cause off having no one to discuss this with, and getting riled up about what people are posting about Whitney Houston. Let us stop and think about what this means:

"she died of drug use and she died when she was 48. she will be remembered forever as a great singer. we honor her for her strong ability of singing to this day. R.I.P Whitney Houston" - From Yahoo Answers

 Really? This seems to happen every time a celebrity dies. Don't get me wrong, I wish that no one had to die, I wish that Whitney Houston was still alive now. It is a horrible thing to have anyone die, but look at what we are holding up as a society. Everyone seems to think that the cause of her death is due to her abuse of drugs and alcohol. Are we saying that we are ok turning a blind eye to this fact, and mourn her as a national hero. When a teenager who has been addicted to drugs dies, we hear about the rising drug problem in our city. Why is there the double standard. Just because someone is an artist or is famous for some other reason does not give them a free pass. Look at Chris Farley, John Belushi, Janis Joplin, Sid Vicious... these are just from the Wiki pages on heroine and cocaine related deaths. Lest we forget about Kurt Cobain (there was a lot of heroine involved in that case), Michael Jackson (I know there is a guy behind bars for the 'homicide' of MJ, but he was on a number of questionable 'medications' when he died), Billy Mays, Heath Ledger. Don't get me wrong, they all produced great things, they were funny people, great actors, wonderful musicians... and they all had addictions to drugs. Something that we, as American People, are ok either ignoring, or downplaying, because of their fame.

I don't think that we should tarnish their legacy by focusing on their problems, but at the same time, when we go to crack down on drugs, lets start at the top. It is no wonder why kids get in to drugs, all of their idols are using and we are ok with it.