Am I My Brother's Keeper?

Should friends watch out for one another?

Unless you live under a rock or in a cave, we've all heard about designated drivers. A designated driver is the person who remains sober while his friends are drinking and partying. His job is to stay sober and drive his friends home safely. This is a great policy for people of all ages and should be practiced without exception.

Is the designated driver policy enough to protect our friends? Should we be doing more?

The best example I can provide is the Natalie Holloway story. Here was a girl on vacation partying with her friends. Most, if not all her friends, knew she had been drinking. Why didn't anyone stop her from leaving with three total strangers? Did anyone try? Should anyone have attempted to stop her? The girl ended up dead and the case is still not resolved. Could her friends have prevented this tragedy?

The stories don't end there. There are numerous examples of college students drinking themselves to death and no one is around or paying attention to the victims. Who is the genius who thought it would be fun to have 21 shots on your 21st birthday? Has no one heard of alcohol poisoning?

Just recently, a girl was killed in Joliet Illinois after leaving a restaurant/bar after an argument. She was found dead in the street and there are many unanswered questions about the cause of her death. Did she get hit by a car or was she thrown from a car? Could one friend have prevented this?

Several years ago, we were with a friend who had consumed quite a lot of alcohol. At the end of the night, several people tried unsuccessfully to get his car keys. No one forcibly attempted to take his keys and he subsequently attempted to drive himself home. Within a mile of his home, the police noticed his erratic driving and flipped on the lights. He panicked and attempted to outrun the police. The police eventually gave up the chase, but as they were parked on the side of the road, they heard a crash. Sure enough, our friend crashed into a telephone pole and was impaled by a metal pole. He lived long enough for his parents to visit him in the hospital emergency room and he apologized for his actions. He bled out shortly after they arrived. Should we have forcibly taken his keys? Most definitely! We let a friend die that night and it will haunt us forever.

If we are true friends, shouldn't we look out for each other? Shouldn't we protect each other from harm? Should we go beyond the designated driver policy and make a pact with our friends where one will always remain capable of helping the others?

I've read many touching tributes to fallen friends and it seems teens today love their friends very much. It's not like the old days where you'd read about a death in the newspaper and possibly attend the wake or funeral. With the age of social web sites and instant communications, it is possible to create an instant memorial to a fallen friend and many teens pour their hearts out in tribute to their loved ones. It is encouraging to see how much support is given to the families of victims.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could prevent some of these tragic deaths in the first place? I still believe that when your time is up, no one can prevent it. But what if our purpose is to protect each other? Keeping each other safe would be a great act of friendship.

If you're out partying, have someone stay sober and make sure no one drinks themselves to death or attempts to drive. Watch out for each other when in the company of strangers. Don't let your best friend leave with someone you really don't know. If you're taking a long road trip by car, make sure someone stays awake with the driver. Way too many people die in car crashes on the way home from vacations because the driver can't stay awake.

Don't stop enjoying life. Life is to be lived, but you have to be alive to live it.

Am I my brother's keeper?