Thursday, November 4, 2010

On Being Human: "Let he who is without sin..."


I just found out about 2o minutes ago that my first love/crush, David Cassidy, was arrested for DUI in Florida. While it surprises me, I refuse to condemn him or any other celebrity who makes a mistake. David has been forthcoming in the past about his struggles with alcohol. Since his father, Jack Cassidy, had the same substance issues during his lifetime, it makes sense that David and his brothers may have to deal with the same problems. David is challenging the charges, saying that he had just one glass of wine after a funeral and also had pain medication in his system. He has never been arrested for anything ever before, and he would not knowingly jeopardize himself or others in this manner.
I bet most of us can relate in some way. We've thought we had our situations under control, been going along about our usual business, and fallen off whatever particular wagon we were on. So many people have had tragedies occur in their lives, began to feel weak, and given in again to the cigarettes, alcohol, food, gambling, shopping, and other addictions that they though they had licked. Besides the fact that the wine probably did not mix well with the pain medication, David was grieving the loss of someone in his life and gave in to one glass. I know for myself, I completely went off my healthy eating wagon after my mom passed away...and it's been a struggle ever since. Sugar is just as much of an addiction as any other substance. I've have friends who have had DUI's, usually right after they lost their jobs or had another major stressor in their lives. I know people who haven't had a cigarette in years, only to start smoking again when they have to take care of a relative with an illness or a child with problems at school. No matter how much you think you have the situation under control, you always have to be careful of backsliding in a weak or stressful moment. Struggling with these things does not make any of us bad people.
I am appalled at all of the people on Twitter who think it's OK to make jokes about David's DUI or are ready to condemn him after one mistake. I certainly don't condone drinking and driving or mixing alcohol with medication, but who am I to judge any particular person? Who are any of us to judge? I feel the same way whether the person in the news is David, who is a first time offender, or another celebrity who has had more than one offense and has to continually find ways to deal with his or her addictions. Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." None of us are perfect, so there should not be any stones cast. We need to be looking for ways to help and praying for anyone struggling with an addiction. It could be you, a family member or friend, or someone you've looked up to during your life. We all have our issues...that's part of being human. If we didn't have any struggles we wouldn't be human. The only perfection is God. He is the one we should consult about our problems...and He wants us to help, not harass, eath other when we have problems.

3 comments:

Kristine said...

The media has really gotten out of control with this type of "writing"--why must we continually hear about celebrities arrests, marriage troubles, drinking and drug problems..and then watch the unraveling of their life? It's so sad. I hate hearing about Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen, or anyone. I ended up changing my home page at one point so I didn't have to see celebrity "news" anymore, but then it still sneaks in somehow. So, so sad about our culture.

WriterMarie said...

I agree with you. People in all walks of life have these types of issues to deal with, but at least they have a little more privacy to deal with their stuff. I also hate the "you made one mistake, so you are now an awful person forever" mentality. If that were the case, ALL of us would be bad people and going straight to hell. Yes, we all need to deal with the consequences if we broke a law or hurt someone, and I don't want to see anyone be hurt. But God gives us all a second chance...so I feel we should certainly extend that courtesy to all of our fellow human beings, no matter what their profession is.

Alanna Klapp said...

Marie, this is a beautiful post! I could not agree more. Thank you for this!