Fear erupts after the death of a legend

Dan Swank

Pd. E

2/15/12

Whitney Houston's death has musicians afraid

This past weekend, the world lost a legend, and an inspiration. Whitney Houston, 48, was found in a hotel bathroom the night before the Grammy awards. Though the cause of death is unknown, many speculate that usage of prescription pills could be the reasoning. Whitney Houston was as special of a talent as we will ever see in this world. She truly had the voice of an angel, and could hit notes that no other singer could even dream of hitting. She had an extremely successful career, and established herself as a legend in the music world. But a woman who is 48 years old should not be dying. It is devestating to think that Whitney couldn't even make it to age 50. She still had so much life ahead of her, and now it is all gone. Like I said, drug use is most likely the reasoning, and that is what makes it all so devestating and shameful. Why is it that our culture stresses the need of prescription pills? We as humans are beautiful as we are created, and therefore there is no reason to be taking any sort of diet pills which many suspect Whitney to have been taking. Whitney's ex husband Bobby Brown is put under scrutiny as the reason Whitney started abusing drugs. Although Whitney Houston died on saturday, it can be argued that the true death of Whitney Houston occurred when she got involved in drugs, and started the downward spiral of her life. It is upsetting that we are seeing musicians die so young, such as Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson, Nate Dogg, and now Whitney Houston. These people, so talented in their craft, simply ruined their lives with substance abuse. Is there a standard in music that if you are successful in the industry, it is required that you abuse drugs? No, I don't think that is the case. I just feel that these artists have money to waste, and they are surrounded by all the wrong people. They lose sight of whats rational or irrational, and believe that they are invincible. We can only hope that the death of Whitney Houston opens up people's eyes and they realize the true damages that substance abuse can cause.

Works Cited

Toure. “After Whitney Houston, Musicians say: I’m Afraid.” Editorial. www.time.com. CNN, 14 Feb. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/14/after-whitney-houston-musicians-wonder-whos-next/>.