Is This Blog Still Relevant?

While scanning the internet to see if after over a decade my blog remains relevant I found where a student athlete in central Florida used info in my blog to write an article for the Highland News-Sun.  This article was published in the October 27, 2020 edition of the newspaper.

I am reprinting this on here for you to see. I guess maybe my blog is still relevant.

VIEWPOINTS FROM A TEENAGER

Miguel Arceo

Draw Your Line of Morality

Allow me to introduce you to Ron Grover, the father of a son who is currently recovering from a battle with drug addiction. Grover authored a blog post titled, “The Emotions I Experienced as the Parent of a Child With Addiction.” In it, he writes, “For many years, I couldn’t separate the disease in my son, from my son himself. His addiction was a personal affront that I held onto very deeply.”

Imagine, if you can, sitting through his shoes for even one day. Having to watch as your son falls victim to a terrible disease, the son that Psalm 127:3 calls, “a gift from the lord [sic].”

Barbara Hampton, a mother of a son in recovery, wrote another blog titled, “I Got My Son Back: A Mother’s Struggle with Her Son’s Addiction.” Hampton wrote, “My phone would hardly ring and I was always waiting for the one call I was so terrified to receive.”

Again, imagine thinking that every phone call you receive might be the one telling you that your child may have overdosed.

Both of these stories are nothing short of tragic and happen to thousands of families in the United States. Despite this, some supporters of President Trump are more than willing to publicly criticize Hunter Biden’s past struggles with drug addiction. Ever since President Trump exposed his past with cocaine at the first debate, supporters of his have deemed it morally right to attack Hunter Biden. There has been widespread sharing of a photo of Hunter Biden at his lowest point and many accusations. You do not have to agree with Joe Biden’s policies to publicly acknowledge that attacking his son’s past with drug addiction is way below the belt. Joe Biden is no longer just a presidential candidate, but is someone who stood in the same shoes as Ron Grover and Barbara Hampton. He is one of the thousands of people who had to bear witness to the horrible effects of drugs on a person’s life. How can you justify attacks on a drug addict’s father?

If you are able to justify these attacks, I ask you to do the same to veterans who suffer from addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states, “One government report notes that more than ten percent of veteran admissions to substance use treatment centers were for heroin (10.7%), followed by cocaine at just over 6%.” Tell the parents of these brave veterans that the apple does not fall far from the tree. If you can justify the attacks on Hunter Biden, I ask that you publicly attack all the people on your Facebook profile that may be secretly fighting a battle with addiction. Tell them that their family does not deserve a new job because they are struggling with addiction.

Those willing to attack Hunter Biden’s past are those who are willing to overlook their morals and every sense of decency in their lives. No one deserves to ever be publicly shamed for a past drug addiction, regardless of what political party they may be coming from. I truly wish that you and your family never have to know what Ron Grover, Barbara Hampton, Joe Biden, or the thousands of parents of drug addicts had to endure. Drug addiction is a terrible disease that anyone can fall victim to, no matter how well you were raised. Why is it any different when you do not agree with the family of these recovered addicts?

Miguel Arceo is a student athlete at Sebring High School.