There are some people in human history who have always had the power and skill to solve problems in our society. Often times these people appear as leaders, and they become famous for their response to these challenges. Candace Lightner was one of these individuals. In response to a horrific tragedy in her personal life, Lightner took a stand by creating Mother’s Against Drunk Driving. Candace Lightner was born Candace Doddridge on May 30th, 1946 in Pasadena, California. She attended the American River College in Sacramento, and later married Steve Lightner. The marriage produced 3 children, one pair of twins, Cari and Serena, and a son, Travis. Cari Lightner born to the Lightner’s in 1966. She was 13 years old on the night of May 3, 1980 …show more content…
when tragedy struck. Cari was killed by a drunk driver while walking with her friend to a church carnival. Following the trial of the driver, Candace Lightner was furious when she came to understand that the driver would be serving little to no jail time for killing her daughter. Candace Lightner was determined to act strongly in memory of her beloved daughter. Her actions would ultimately lead to the creation of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Candace Lightner always admired her daughter Cari for the person she was.
Following Cari’s tragic death, her story was publicized through the internet and through newspapers by her mother, Candace. Candace explained how Cari was loved by many people, and was a blessing to the Lightner family. Candace stated, She was beautiful, outgoing, athletic, popular, compassionate and funny! She was a great imitator of others and had a wonderful sense of humor. She and her sister were idolized by their younger brother, Travis – …show more content…
mainly because they were bigger than his friends, and could threaten them with bodily harm whenever they went after their brother. Cari always said she would never leave home because she “had it made,” and always talked about going into the real estate business with me. She was a normal teenager, fretting over her weight, constantly on the phone, and the one everyone went to for advice. She was very mature for her age, and I still miss her. On the few occasions when I have dreamed of her, I wake up with the most incredible feeling of joy. I wish that would happen more often, (Lightner, We Save Lives). This tragedy inspired Candace Lightner to begin the formation of MADD, and this helped to create stricter laws for driving under the influence of alcohol. Candace Lightner and MADD began to see to it that people who broke drinking and driving laws were receiving the consequences that they deserved. In 1980 when Cari Lightner was killed by a drunk driver, the driver received little to no punishment for his actions.
From 1897 to 1980 drunk drivers did not receive the appropriate punishments for their actions. The first person who was arrested for driving while intoxicated was George Smith. Smith was a London, taxi driver and pled guilty after slamming his taxi into a building. Smith was charged with 25 shillings, which was the british currency in that time but has now switched to british pounds. 25 shillings in our money today is worth 24 cents. In 1910 New York was the first state in the United States to pass a drunk driving law, while other states started to follow after. The disciplinary action for a person drunk driving was $1000 and one year in jail. Nonetheless the law did not specify how intoxicated you had to be to receive the punishment. There have been inventions to help our problem that was happening in our society. One was the Drunkometer, invented by Robert Borkenstein in 1936. This device was used for someone to breathe into and could tell someone whether or not the person is drunk. People may think that this was a great invention but, in 1953 is when the more prominent invention came to be. This invention was called the Breathalyzer, invented by Robert Borkenstein.“The Breathalyzer used chemical oxidation and photometry to determine alcohol concentration. The machine measured the alcohol vapors in the breath, and it would show the level of alcohol in
blood,” (Russman Law). Still laws back then were not strict whatsoever. An example of this is Clarence Busch, this is the man that killed Cari Lightner. Busch was sentenced three times in four years for drunk driving related incidents. “He had served only 48 hours in jail, and his license had been reinstated each time after probation. Just two days before killing Cari, Busch had been arrested for yet another hit-and-run while under the influence, and had been released on bail,” (People). This caused Candace Lightner to be irritated because her 13 year old daughter was killed walking to a church carnival in the bicycle lane when a car deviated from the road into the bicycle lane and hit Cari out of her shoes and was flung in the street more than 120 feet. The establishment of MADD was put together four days after Cari’s death, by Candace Lightner’s father and a few of her friends. MADD was a non profit organization trying to raise awareness and educate the public about the hazards of drunk driving and the devastating effect it can have on people. MADD has been able to accomplish many adjectives, some bigger than others, but still make a great impact on our society. This was challenging at first for Candace because our society was not informed enough about the dangers of drunk driving. Nevertheless MADD started to develop an audience to their cause. The Production of MADD was not loved by everyone. A man named Radley Balko made a comment about MADD that did get people thinking about about MADD in a negative way. Balko told Los Angeles Times In fairness, MADD deserves credit for raising awareness of the dangers of driving while intoxicated. It was almost certainly MADD's dogged efforts to spark public debate that affected the drop in fatalities since 1980, when Candy Lightner founded the group after her daughter was killed by a drunk driver. But MADD is at heart a bureaucracy, a big one. It boasts an annual budget of $45 million, $12 million of which pays for salaries, pensions and benefits. Bureaucracies don't change easily, even when the problems they were created to address change, ( Balko, Los Angeles Times). Candace Lightner and MADD soon overcame this and became very famous for their actions. As MADD progressed through the years with help trying put a stop towards drunk driving, there were people who wanted to help along the way. Many people volunteered through the Mother’s Against Drunk Driving website. People volunteered for a variety of things, from making cards to the victim’s friends and family showing that they care to becoming a trained volunteer to help victims and survivors emotionally. The mission for Mother’s Against Drunk driving was “as stated in its Articles of Incorporation were to aid the victims of crimes performed by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to aid the families of such victims and to increase public awareness of the problem of drinking and drugged driving," (MADD.org). To this day in 2016 MADD has reached its goal to reduce drunk driving, but has now revised their mission to stop drunk driving. One of MADD’s greatest accomplishments was raising the legal drinking age to 21 in 1984. Candace Lightner was fortunate enough to stand next to President Reagan during the signing of the “law to cut federal highway grants for any state that didn’t increase its legal drinking age to 21,” (MADD History and Timeline). In 1985 MADD had over 320 chapters in the country and 600,000 volunteers. MADD has made a very positive impact on our society. From 1982 to 2014 the fatalities caused by drunk driving has dropped to nearly a fraction of the original number. In 1982 the number of fatalities was 21,113 and the number of fatalities in 2014 was 9,967. In 1980 when Cari Lightner was killed by a drunk driver, Candace Lightner did something that no one else thought of, and that was to educate and inform our society about the hazards and dangers of drunk driving. Along with many other people in the world, Candace Lightner took a stand and helped reduce people from dying by dumb people drinking too much alcohol and going behind the wheel not knowing what they are doing.
Margaret Sanger, a well known feminist and women's reproductive right activist in USA history wrote the famous speech: The Children's Era. This speech focuses on the topic of women's reproductive freedom. Sanger uses rhetorical forms of communication to persuade and modify the perspectives of the audience through the use of analogy and pathos. She uses reason, thought and emotion to lead her speech.
The 19th century was a time of great social change in the United States as reflected by the abolitionist movement and the women’s suffrage movement. Two very influential women leaders were Angelina Grimke and Sojourner Truth. Grimke was born a Southern, upper class white woman. She moved to the North as a young woman, grew involved in abolitionism and women’s rights, and became known for her writing, particularly “Letters to Catherine Beecher”. Sojourner Truth was born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree; she escaped to freedom, changed her name, and became an active speaker on behalf of both the abolition and women’s rights movements. Truth’s most famous speech is “Ain’t I a Woman?”. While both Grimke and Truth use a personal, conversational tone to communicate their ideas, Grimke relies primarily on logical arguments and Truth makes a more emotional appeal through the use of literary strategies and speech.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with many other women, packed into a convention on a hot July day to all fight for a common cause; their rights. At the first Women’s Rights convention, Stanton gave a heroic speech that motivated the fight for the cause to be even stronger. Through Stanton’s appliances of rhetorical devices such as emotional, logical, and ethical appeals, she was able to her win her point, change the opinions of many, and persuade people to follow her.
...being one of the most powerful women in politics and represented Denver in 1997. People looked up to her as she represented women’s positions in politics, child care programs, and fought to decrease the spending limits that were set for defense installations (Abbott, Leonard, Noel, pp. 480, 2013).
One of the most important roles that a nurse fulfills as a responsibility of the profession is the advocate. Nurses are responsible to provide the information needed for a patient to make a decision and consequently support that decision. Margaret Sanger was one of the most influential advocates for women’s health and sexual health in general. Margaret Sanger was a public health nurse in New York who noticed that there was a significant problem in the way that women were treated within the healthcare system. Through her efforts she started what is today known as Planned Parenthood, defeated laws preventing the distribution of contraceptives and information regarding contraceptives,
It is a tragic truth: About 10,000 lives are lost in the United States because of drunk driving each year. Alcohol is wildly known as one of the main reasons of causing social security issue. Small amount can make people feel relaxed, but bigger amount could make them loss their coordination, get feeling of confusion and disorientation, and significantly slowed their reaction time. On average, one person dies every hour because of alcoholic traffic accident in United State. Therefore, the NTSB put out a recommendation last May that the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) level for drivers should be lowered from the current level of .08% to .05%. But for several reasons, we shouldn’t lower the criterion on blood alcohol content.
A breathalyzer is a device used for determining the content of alcohol from a sample of one’s breath. Robert Borkenstein invented it in 1954 while serving as an instructor in alcohol intoxication to find a different solution to practical problems associated with sampling blood for law enforcement purposes (SRInstitute). Because of the hazards associated with drinking and driving, laws need to be stricter about abusing alcohol and driving at the same time. People should have to take a mandatory class in high school or in college about the dangers of drinking and driving and the effects it can take on you or on others if you cause a wreck. To prevent fatal accidents while driving under the influence, all cars should have a built in breathalyzer.
Marcia Anderson, married to Amos Charles Anderson, was born in 1958, and she also was born and raised in Verona, WI. Her husband is an administrator for the Madison school district. She met her husband in Milwaukee WI. They have been married for twelve years. Andersons dad, Rudy Mahan, whose current job is a truck driver, and who is also currently living in Wisconsin, formerly served in the U.S military. The only difference between Anderson and her father was that he never got to fulfill his dream of flying plane bombers. Her mother was a clerical worker. She worked in many places such as hospitals, and offices. Marcia`s mother also was the first young woman to integrate a catholic high school in Missouri. Anderson’s mother passed away after her graduation of Rutgers Law School. Marcia Anderson was said to be a shy ...
The facts are plain and simple, that alcohol and driving do not mix. About three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol related crash at some time in their lives. Every single injury and death caused by drunk driving is totally preventable. To curb this national travesty, concerned Americans need to examine the problems, the effects, and the solutions to drunk driving. First of all, America has had a problem with drunk driving since Ford perfected the assembly line. Alcoholism is a problem in and of itself, but combined with driving can have a wide range of effects. The consequences of this reckless behavior can include a first time DUI or licenses suspension; a small fender bender, or worst of all a deadly crash. Most drivers that have only one or two drinks feel fine, and assume they are in control, which is irresponsible and dangerous. Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the body's ability to react and impairs judgment. To drive well, you need to be able to have a quick reaction time to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, people continue to drink and drive. However,...
Law enforcements around the US have worked extremely hard to prevent drinking and driving. Checkpoints were established to help prevent DUIs. In Sedalia, for example, mostly they are on “big nights” such as prom, Fourth of July, and graduation. A DUI checkpoint is when police officers block the road with barriers or vehicles. Before being a loud to go through the checkpoint, the driver must have a conversation with the officer and present his or her driver’s license. If the driver is shown to have signs of drinking alcohol, the officer can give the driver a sobriety test or a Breathalyzer.
“Drink the first. Sip the second slowly. Skip the third. The speedway ends at the cemetery” (Rockne). Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol related crashes totals more than 51 billion. In Recent discussions of drunk driving, a controversial issue has been whether the driving while intoxicated laws should be increased due to the amount tax payers are paying for drunk driving crashes. On the one hand. Some argue that the driving laws for driving drunk should remain the same and not change. From this perspective the laws about driving under the influence should greatly increase to be stricter, this will help decrease the death rate per year in the United States. On the other hand, however others argue that the laws about driving while drunk are already too strict and should remain unchanged. In sum, then, the issue is whether the laws about driving drunk should be greatly increased to be more effective, or remain unchanged. Because drunk driving can result in unnecessary and premature deaths, unsafe roadways, billions of dollars spent on taxpayers due to DUI’S, and losing a loved one. Drunk driving laws should be altered to be more efficient.
One of many unsung American heroes is Nancy Hart. She was noted for her actions against Loyalists in the Georgia country during the American Revolutionary War. Most of her life remains unknown to us today, so it is hard to tell fact from myth. It is said that Nancy was not a woman of beauty. She was tall and lanky with scars on her face from smallpox. She would have recognized that fact in a hurry had she ever had the pleasure of looking into a mirror. Hart’s character matched her looks with a strong, feisty, hotheaded temper. Anyone who offended her or hurt anyone that she held dear would be sure to see her vengeance. Nancy was the head of her household; this eventually came to include six sons and two daughters and, of course, her husband.
Drunk driving is when an individual drives a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level over the legaly permited limit. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a major health problem in the United States as it accounts for a high number of road fatalities; hence, there is a need for stricter drunk driving rules in the United States in order to reduce drunken driving fatalities.
Driving under the influence is one of the most common and dangerous situations in which anyone can be or be placed. Drinking and driving is a serious offence that can cause someone to be physically harm or even killed. Not only are you putting yourself at risk but you are also risking the lives of passengers in the car as well as any other car and occupants sharing the road with you. Many people believe that increasing fines for drunk driving offenders will play a compelling role in cutting down the occurrences of driving under the influence. However, while harsher DUI laws will look effective on paper, they will not make a significant step in the fight against drunk driving. Although there is a law enforced for drinking and driving in the
Many people in the United States enjoy a drink of their favorite alcoholic beverage. It could be a nice ice cold beer after a hard day of work or going to the bar and enjoying a few shots or mixed drinks with friends. Drinking alcohol is a common way to mingle with friends and take the edge off a difficult day. However, there are dangers involved with alcohol since it does dampen the body’s ability to cope with new information. Alcohol becomes a poison to the body when consumed in large quantities. The biggest danger is not to the driver after they become inebriated, but comes to anyone the drunk driver comes in contact with. A sober person can be dangerous just by being distracted, but a drunk driver’s ability to cope with changing situations and distractions is one of the biggest hazards on today’s roads. Some individuals believe that they are not as impaired as what they are led to believe from government ads and the many videos that show what can happen to someone who is drinking and driving. Although, there are many policies in place to advocate against drunk driving, there are those who would endanger themselves and others with their thoughtless actions when they jump into the driver’s seat of a vehicle. Drinking and driving should never be combined because a person who has been drinking does not have the ability to use all mental faculties unimpaired, many people have been killed, injured, or psychologically hurt by a drunk driver, many men and women do not know the difference weight and gender have on the body’s ability to process alcohol, and the financial and legal trouble that is awaiting for those convicted by a DUI.