I have a lame riddle: What

do Sherman's burning of Atlanta and a Peachtree City teen have in common?

They both leave a trail of smoke and ashes.

A person in Fayette County

(or, any county for that matter) would have to be blind not to see that

teen smoking is epidemic. And, if a person is not blind, maybe he or she

just has smoke in their eyes.

I once called the police station

and asked a few simple questions about smoking. I got some simple answers.

I asked, "Is it illegal to sell cigarettes to minors?" The answer

was, "Yes." I then asked, "It is illegal for an adult to

give, buy for, or sell cigarettes to a minor?" Again the answer was,

"Yes." I then asked another simple question, "Then if I

see a minor smoking, something illegal has taken place?" The answer

was like, "Well, uh...."

Yet, you can practically see

hundreds of teens and even preteens smoking in a typical week without

anyone asking a single question. Are we a community that just doesn't

care? As educated and affluent as Fayette County seems to be, we should

be leading the state in deterring smoking. Yet, like in soccer or academics,

we excel. I am not saying it is just the job of the police. I am not saying

it is just the job of the school system. I am not saying it is just the

job of parents. But together, it IS the job of every responsible adult

involved with youth.

Some would say the problem

is education. Yet, we already have the smartest students in the state.

Some would say the problem is a feeling of hopelessness among teens. Yet,

even teens know they have a brighter future than any generation before.

The problem is as apparent as leather on the Marlboro Man: it's simply

freedom.

Teens smoke because they can.

You can research every societal influence, every psychological urge, and

every rebellious spirit. The reasons for wanting to smoke are multitude.

The reason kids that kids DO smoke is one because they can. Simply, no

one cares enough to say "No!" Our national government continually

tries to do what we as a community should already be doing, stopping minors

from smoking.

Why have we as a county, state

and country stopped caring about our teens? We wouldn't let a toddler

run in the street. We wouldn't let a child drink poison. We let our middle

and high schoolers smoke all day long.

Some would argue we are just

delaying the inevitable by restricting youth from smoking. Yet, we know

toddlers eventually grow older to take care in crossing the smart. We

know children grow older to take care to avoid drinking poison.

Do our teens know everything

they need to know to the point we don't need to protect them? Even from

themselves?

It's time to ask the question,

"What's the matter here?" and create a way out for our teens