I have posted the question in the files and I have posted one example too.

ChelseaChristman

CMST 210
Advocacy Performance
Professor Tuder

A Drink is Not Worth a Life

My favorite uncle, Dan, was a wonderful, caring, fun person. He was the youngest of six

kids, and my mother’s closest brother. Dan was not only kind, but he could make anyone laugh.

He was always telling jokes and brightening our family get-togethers. Dan would play pranks

and tease people all the time. I always thought of him like a big, warm teddy bear. Others saw

Dan the same way; he was so lovable and giving. Dan was the beloved manager of Hirshfields,

an active member of his parish, and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. He would take me and

my little brother on adventures around town, to the park or to buy new video games that we

would all play together.

On December 21st, 2006, I remember my mom waking up in the middle of the night in a

panic. She was frantic, screaming for my brother and I to wake up because our uncle Dan had

been in a car accident. We all flocked to my grandparents’ house because they had gotten the

call. I remember my aunt, uncle, and cousins coming. Dan had taken a trip with two of his

coworkers to the casino in Mille Lacs. On the way home, late at night, on roads as slippery as

icicles, Dan saw a truck spinning toward him. He could only make out the truck’s headlights

spinning every now and then like a strobe light. Dan pulled far to the right side of the road to

avoid the truck, but it smashed into the driver’s side door. Dan was pinned in the car, trapped.

His two coworkers, thank God, were okay. They called us and let us know the situation. About

an hour after the crash, my other uncle, who lived in the cities, called my grandparents’ house to

give us the news. He dropped a missile into our family when he told us that Dan had passed

away in a small hospital near Mille Lacs.

Hearing the news that my favorite uncle had passed away hit me so hard; it was one of

the most influential moments of my life. I remember everyone reacting differently to his death.

My brother, Grant, stared crying uncontrollably. Dan was his godfather, and this was the night

before Grant’s birthday. My young cousins didn’t understand, but everyone else was falling into

grief. I felt stapled to the ground, paralyzed numb. I couldn’t eat, sleep, or think. I remember my

Grandma breaking down and acting hysterical, and I remember my grandpa calling people and

saying, “My son died tonight” over and over again. We tried to get him to stop because it was

past midnight, but that was how he dealt with the grief.

Of course, others are affected by drunk driving as well. According to Mothers Against

Drunk Driving, one person “every 50 minutes” will die due to drunk driving accidents. Also, one

person every minute “is injured from an alcohol-related crash” (“Drinking and Driving Stats”).

According to MADD, an “average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before his or

her first arrest,” and “one out of three” car crashes with teenagers involve alcohol (Chapman 1).

Also, “one in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime”

(“Drinking and Driving Stats”). According to an article in World of Criminal Justice published in

2002, “drunk drivers kill an estimated 25,000 people every year” (“Drinking and Driving”).

Also, the higher drivers’ blood alcohol level, the higher their risk of “serious injuring or death

while operating a motor vehicle” (“Drinking and Driving”). One study found that while most

people do not agree with drunk driving, they change their minds after drinking: “After

participants had been drinking and were coming down from their peak blood alcohol levels, they

felt it was safer to drive than they did when they were sober” (Join Together Staff 1).

I’m not saying people shouldn’t drink, but when you’re old enough to drink, be

responsible. Don’t allow others to drive drunk; take their keys away or offer to be the sober cab.

It’s simple: don’t put yourself in a dire situation. If not for yourself, think of the other drivers on

the road. Think of the immense guilt you would feel if you hit and killed someone because you

were drunk.

A drink is not worth a life. Nothing can replace Dan’s life. If people would make smarter

choices and follow the laws, Dan would still be here today. When I think of my uncle, I

remember him positively—for his smile, humor, and caring attitude. But I also think that his

death was completely unnecessary. If you value your life and others, you won’t drink and drive.

Many injuries and deaths can be prevented if we work to make smarter choices. Mothers

Against Drunk Driving state that “far too many preventable deaths and injuries occur each year

as a result of drinking and driving, and it remains a serious cause for national concern”

(“Drinking and Driving Stats”). A drink is not worth a life. A drink was not worth my uncle’s

life. A drink is not worth your life. A drink is not worth anyone’s life.

Works Cited

Chapman, Roger. “Mothers Against Drunk Driving.” Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues,

Viewpoints, and Voices. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 2010. Credo Reference. Web. 5 February

2014.

“Drinking and Driving.” World of Criminal Justice, Gale. Farmington: Gale, 2002. Credo

Reference. Web. 5

February 2014.

“Drinking and Driving Stats.” Caron Pennsylvania. 2013. Caron Treatment Centers. Web. 15

February 2014.

Join Together. “Views of Drunk Driving May Change Once a Person Becomes Intoxicated:

Study.” The Partnership at Drugfree.org. Newsroom. 13 September 2013. Web. 15

February 2014.

Cut
 out
 parts:
 
 Now, every year around Christmas, we have Dan’s memory to comfort us. Sadly,
we shouldn’t have just a memory, but his real physical presence. Christmastime is usually a
struggle for my family, and when I see my grandparents’ emotional strain over losing their baby,
their youngest child, my heart aches. We all loved him so much, and we miss him beyond words.
Dan didn’t have to die. We found out afterward that the driver who hit Dan was drunk. This
drunk driver died on the scene, but that was no comfort. One wrong choice by a reckless driver
cost my uncle his life.

As the statistics prove, drunk driving is a serious problem. I am proud to say I never drank
underage. Although I am 21 now, I don’t drink much at all. I’m always smart and responsible
when I go out with friends. From losing my uncle Dan, I learned the cruel realities of drunk
driving. A drink is not worth a life.
 

BELOW
 FROM:
 “Drinking
 and
 Driving
 Stats.”
 http://www.caron.org/knowledge-­‐library/statistics-­‐
outcomes/drinking-­‐driving-­‐stats?WT.mc_id=GrantsPPC&gclid=CPiOr5rizrwCFY1cMgodvjAAoQ
 

Drinking
 and
 driving
 is
 a
 dangerous,
 costly
 problem
 in
 the
 Unites
 States.
 According
 to
 Mothers
 Against
 
Drunk
 Driving
 (MADD),
 10,839
 people
 will
 die
 in
 drunk
 driving
 crashes
 –
 one
 every
 50
 minutes
 –
 this
 
year.
 
 In
 addition,
 one
 person
 is
 injured
 from
 an
 alcohol-­‐related
 crash
 every
 minute.[1]
 

MADD
 also
 provides
 the
 following
 information
 regarding
 drunk
 driving
 in
 the
 United
 States[2]:
 

Drunk
 driving
 costs
 each
 adult
 in
 the
 United
 States
 almost
 $500
 per
 year.
 
 

An
 average
 drunk
 driver
 has
 driven
 drunk
 80
 times
 before
 his
 or
 her
 first
 arrest.
 

One
 in
 three
 people
 will
 be
 involved
 in
 an
 alcohol-­‐related
 crash
 in
 their
 lifetime.
 

50
 to
 75%
 of
 convicted
 drunk
 drivers
 continue
 to
 drive
 on
 a
 suspended
 license.
 

Car
 crashes
 are
 the
 leading
 cause
 of
 death
 for
 teens
 and
 one
 out
 of
 three
 of
 those
 is
 alcohol
 related.
 

Kids
 who
 start
 drinking
 young
 are
 seven
 times
 more
 likely
 to
 be
 in
 an
 alcohol-­‐related
 crash.
 

Fortunately,
 drunk-­‐driving
 fatalities
 have
 decreased
 significantly
 since
 all
 50
 states
 adopted
 a
 drinking
 
age
 of
 21
 in
 1981.
 
 In
 fact,
 according
 to
 the
 US
 Department
 of
 Transportation,
 the
 number
 of
 drunk-­‐
driving
 related
 fatalities
 has
 fallen
 49
 percent
 since
 1982;
 10,000
 fewer
 drunk-­‐driving
 fatalities
 occurred
 
in
 2009
 than
 in
 1982.
 [3]
 
 Still,
 far
 too
 many
 preventable
 deaths
 and
 injuries
 occur
 each
 year
 as
 a
 result
 
of
 drinking
 and
 driving,
 and
 it
 remains
 a
 serious
 cause
 for
 national
 concern.