Two young men in Florida removed a stop sign and
brought it back to their fraternity house as a trophy. Shortly
afterward, a fatal accident occurred at the sign-less intersection. The
students were convicted of manslaughter.
In Tennessee, two
teenagers were in a high-rise building. One dared the other to slide
down a trash chute. His friend did so -- right into an automatic trash
compactor. The one who egged him into the fatal accident was
traumatized, possibly for life.
Four college fraternity students
in California were charged with manslaughter when a pledge they were
hazing died after they forced him to drink gallons of water.
What
makes these stories all the more tragic is that we`re not talking about
bad kids. We`re talking about fundamentally decent kids who made really
bad choices.
The recurring nightmare of caring parents is that,
during the course of growing up, their children will seriously damage
themselves by unwise decisions. An endless array of bad consequences can
result from reckless conduct to impress friends, thrillseeking, or
giving in to the temptation of drugs, alcohol, or sex. And when kids get
involved with irresponsible, manipulative, cruel, selfish, or simply
stupid people who call themselves friends, there`s no telling what dumb
things they will do.
All youngsters will make foolish mistakes,
as we did. Still, we can equip them with reasoning tools that can help
them see and avoid really big, bad choices.
We can improve their
decision-making skills by talking to them often about the importance of
acting rationally, even when everyone around them seems overtaken by
impulse. We can tell them stories to help them evaluate situations and
anticipate potential consequences.
*This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
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