Drug Usage: To Tell Or Not To Tell

Today my dad was at Dairy Queen with my little brother, when a fellow parent sat down to chat with him. They got to talking and this parent brought up a scandal going on within their circle of friends. One of their friends children was doing drugs; specifically smoking weed. This parent was deeply concerned and wanted to tell the parents of the child, who were oblivious. When my dad got home he told me this story and it made me wonder if telling those parents is an ethical decision.
Drugs are a big problem among teenagers in our society. I myself have been asked more times than I can count to smoke weed or a cigarette or some other substance. With constant peer pressure surrounding them, many teenagers succumb and try these drugs. They don't always become hooked, but even smoking once can damage your lungs, esophagus, and other parts of your body. Because of this danger, is it ethical to inform the parents of their child's choices? I don't think so.
First of all, you would be getting involved in issues that don't involve you. If these issues don't personally affect you, it's  not your place to insert yourself into their family's business. Second of all this parent had only heard rumors of this child doing drugs. They had no concrete proof. Even if they were right, they have no evidence to provide the parents with. Because of this, if they told the parents, it would seem more like gossip and like they were attacking their child.
Another debacle this parent faces is that they most likely believe that they would be protecting the child in question. However this leads right back to the fact that this parent would be getting involved in another family's issues, which is not their place. If this parent were to tell the child's parents about their drug use, it would come across as immature and like the parent did not know their place.
It would be easy to justify going to this child's parents, but it would still be unethical. The parent would be meddling in another family's problems without any proof or evidence to support their claim. Therefore, I believe, that should they inform the parents of the child's choice to use drugs, that it would be a completely unethical decision.

Football, the True American Pastime.

I'm watching my favorite team, the Packers, play right now and it got me thinking about football. American football has such a deep cultural value in the U.S. Whether it's college, high school or professional football, I believe football is the true "American pastime". But watching the game also got me thinking about the cultural significance of football within society. It amazes me how a sport, and even a team, can bring people together. My dad, my brother and I are all watching the game together; talking just enjoying each other's company. Normally at 10 pm our family would be in bed, exhausted from running around all night to our various activities. But the Packer game is giving us a reason to sit down and spend time with one another. Something else that I find interesting is loyalty of fans to their team. For myself, even if the Packers lose, I will still wear my jersey tomorrow at school. I love my team. And if you ask any fan of any other team if they'd do the same, I bet you they'd say yes. But what exactly causes this loyalty? I believe it's the feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself, the thrill of experiencing a football game through the players. I find football's ability to bring families and people together is inspiring.

Controversy in Modern Pregnancies

Being in I.B. I've learned to look at controversial topics from different perspectives. Something I was thinking about the other day was pregnancy. (I know, random right?) To be completely honest if I see a girl walking through the halls at school, obviously pregnant, I have stereotypical thoughts about her. She didn't use protection, the pregnancy was an accident, her parents are probably angry and so on. Not to say that any of those options aren't true, however realizing those judgements I would normally have made got me thinking: why does pregnancy seem to have a negative connotation these days? Of course if you're a teen who's pregnant it comes with a negative connotation, but what about a grown woman?
Just the other day I was at the grocery store and saw a pregnant woman walking around by herself. And I noticed down the aisle that another woman was staring at her the same way I see pregnant teenage girls being stared at. The look of the other woman was almost condescending. As I continued to shop, I noticed other people watching her too. And their stares did not appear friendly. They were almost patronizing. I was trying to understand exactly what was making these people stare because I couldn't bring myself to believe the reason was her pregnancy. But then I realized something. This woman wasn't wearing a ring on her finger.
It made me wonder; how does marriage make a difference in how people view pregnancy?
Even though society these days deems it acceptable to have children, but not be married, why were the people in the grocery store still staring at the pregnant woman that way? I believe that the modern idea of unmarried pregnancy has contributed to its own "taboo" connotation. A couple of decades ago if a grown woman was pregnant, people assumed she was married. Now people can't assume those things because of a change in society. More and more people are remaining unmarried, but still having children together. Some people have one night stands and get pregnant. Women can become pregnant from a sperm donor. There are so many ways to become pregnant that people can't assume one single ideal anymore. There are other alternatives they would have to consider. And a lot of people don't approve of many of the more modern ways women are becoming pregnant.
That's why I believe people were staring at that pregnant woman in the grocery store. They didn't know her story and therefore made assumptions. Thinking about this now, it seems quite ridiculous to me that pregnancy should have a negative connotation simply because there are other ways to be pregnant without being married.