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"How many more folks got to get hurt before we start saying something's gotta change? Everybody wants to change the world, nobody wants to change themselves," says Milton Creagh, in Masquerade: Unveiling Our Deadly Dance with Drugs and Alcohol.
The host of the new video tells it like it is, and we'd all better listen. Drug-related problems in the U.S. are still on a steady rise. According to an article in Newsweek last August, drug abuse by 12- to 17-year olds has jumped 33 percent since 1994. "Last year in this country," says Creagh, "we lost more people to drugs than we lost from the Vietnam War." Should we build a monument to druggies who die?
A better place to start is with Creagh's in-your-face video, a dramatic wake-up call to all teens and their parents. He speaks from experience after challenging more than 750,000 students and parents in schools all across the nation. The video is a series of clips from his hardhitting messages and the often-tearful and repentant responses from teens. These are interlaced with direct counsel from Creagh to parents and teens.
The 30-minute film was released in coordination with Red Ribbon Week, the national drug awareness campaign sponsored by National Family Partnership last October 23-31. Creagh, host of the new PBS television series "Parenting Talk," uses humor, passionate storytelling, and brief interviews with hurting teens to make the message clear: You are responsible for your choices and you can live a meaningful, drug-free life.
"You can't act like nothing's goin' on," Creagh tells students. "If it's your friend, do something. If it's your family member, do something. Take the mask off, because too many people are getting hurt. Enough is enough!"
Check your local television listings for a January showing (37 cities are scheduled) and plan to use it locally. This presentation may be just what your youth group needs to see.
Jay Graham is a youth group leader in Greensboro, NC.
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