The alcohol fueled alleged serial rape of a sixteen-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates - not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others – points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety, and forward development of youth.

It is a priority that carries with it, in Dr. Martin Luther King’s words, the fierce urgency of now. Indeed, is there a task more pressing than protecting the generation that will follow us as custodians of the future?

Probably not.

Among the key threats facing our kids are ones often overlooked, underplayed, or enabled by adults: alcohol use and its many negative ramifications, including impaired driving.

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