We're the Only Ones Waking Them Up Enough

Though the deception left some teens temporarily confused and angry, if it makes even one student think twice before getting behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, it is worth the price, said California Highway Patrol Officer Eric Newbury, who orchestrates the program at local high schools.

“When someone says to me, 'Oh, my God, you're traumatizing my children,' I'm telling them, 'No, what I'm doing is waking them up,' ” said Newbury, whose father was killed by a drunken driver.

Government's function is to secure the blessings of liberty, not wake anyone up, and certainly not lie to citizens to achieve its objectives. But good job teaching young citizens to never trust authority figures, Eric, particularly "Only Ones." The biggest lesson here is the ends justify the means, and if cops can lie to get what they want, why shouldn't we be able to?

It's like stupid DARE programs--most kids would never think to "huff" household chemicals unless some adult moron who can't grasp the concept of unintended consequences put the idea in their head.

I would bet there are no peer-reviewed validating statistics to prove that students who are subjected to the "Every 15 Minutes" LIE modify their behaviors, particularly a year, two or three into the future.

But because the cause is deemed so "worthwhile," and because there is no shortage of victims and survivor family members to exploit the sympathy of the herd, the charade continues. Just like with the gun issue.

[Via cycjec, from The Agitator]