Problem Gambling
Gambling
She took one last look out the window as they drove away, the tears streaming down her face. At the age of four, her world had fallen apart. Karina’s life started out as a perfect middle-class family, and soon turned into a broken mess. They had everything, a perfect house in a really nice part of the city, a nice car; everything was wonderful. As Karina got older, she began to notice things weren’t perfect. Her dad was never there. He was always out gambling in one way or another. “As time progressed we lost the car, and other possessions due to my dad’s gambling problem. It’s not only about gambling and the money. When people gamble, they do other stupid things, he had an affair. My parents decided to get a divorce. My dad didn’t argue, in fact he said that for the safety of our family it would probably be better because a lot of people were angry at him for what he owed them. It was all because of gambling and snowballed into a mess that could have been really dangerous for my mom and me had we stayed around. I’m sad that my life played out in that way at such a young age, and it’s very unfortunate. I know that if he wouldn’t have had gambling around none of those things would have taken place and we would probably still be the family that we were, but unfortunately that’s not how it played out.” Although many people think that legalizing gambling will have a great effect on the economy, I think the negative effects are much more evident. People’s views on subjects often have to do with their ethics. Ethics, as defined by Seiler and Beall, are an individual’s system of moral principles. My ethics lead me to believe that gambling is wrong because I was raised to believe that my family is more important than economic wealth. As it is evident in the story above, gambling can have a major negative effect on someone’s life, and so it is too much of a risk to legalize this dangerous game. Three main reasons that gambling should be kept
She took one last look out the window as they drove away, the tears streaming down her face. At the age of four, her world had fallen apart. Karina’s life started out as a perfect middle-class family, and soon turned into a broken mess. They had everything, a perfect house in a really nice part of the city, a nice car; everything was wonderful. As Karina got older, she began to notice things weren’t perfect. Her dad was never there. He was always out gambling in one way or another. “As time progressed we lost the car, and other possessions due to my dad’s gambling problem. It’s not only about gambling and the money. When people gamble, they do other stupid things, he had an affair. My parents decided to get a divorce. My dad didn’t argue, in fact he said that for the safety of our family it would probably be better because a lot of people were angry at him for what he owed them. It was all because of gambling and snowballed into a mess that could have been really dangerous for my mom and me had we stayed around. I’m sad that my life played out in that way at such a young age, and it’s very unfortunate. I know that if he wouldn’t have had gambling around none of those things would have taken place and we would probably still be the family that we were, but unfortunately that’s not how it played out.” Although many people think that legalizing gambling will have a great effect on the economy, I think the negative effects are much more evident. People’s views on subjects often have to do with their ethics. Ethics, as defined by Seiler and Beall, are an individual’s system of moral principles. My ethics lead me to believe that gambling is wrong because I was raised to believe that my family is more important than economic wealth. As it is evident in the story above, gambling can have a major negative effect on someone’s life, and so it is too much of a risk to legalize this dangerous game. Three main reasons that gambling should be kept
References: * Anderson, K. Gambling. Gambling Probe Ministries. Retrieved October 31, 2001 from http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4219137/k.C8BD/Gambling.htm * Brandt, K. (Personal communication, October 21, 2011) * Forshey, G.E. (1998). Lonely crusade: Fighting the Gambling Industry. The Christian Century. Retrieved October 31, 2011 from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.35 * Kindt, J. (1994). The Economic Impacts of Legalized Gambling Activities. Drake Law Review, 40 (1), 50-87. Retrieved October 26, 2011 from https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/16297 * Meyers, A. Whelan, J. Weinstock. (June 1998). Gambling: When it is not a Game Anymore. Business Perspectives, 16-22. Retrieved October 27, 2011 from http://www.allbusiness.com/specialty-businesses/291076-1.html * Problem Gambling: Be aware of warning signs. Omaha World Herald. (March, 19, 2010). Retrieved October 23, 2011 from Library. * Seiler, W.J. and Beall, M.L. (2009). Communication and Ethical Behavior. In Communication: Making Connections (8th Ed) (pp. 8-9). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Allyn and Bacon. Retrieved November 8th, 2011 * Thompson, W.N. (1994). Gambling: A Controlled Substance. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 21, 2011 from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gamble/procon/thompson.html * U.S. Department of Justice. (July 2004). Gambling and Crime Among Arrestees: Exploring the Link. Retrieved October 31, 2011 from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/203197.pd * Welte, J., Barnes, G., Tidwell, M., & Hoffman, J. (2009). The association of form of gambling with problem gambling among American youth. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(1), 105-112. http://www.masscompulsivegambling.org/stuff/contentmgr/files/efb0fb3a25fbe3257097fd8cda416be9/download/mass_council_fact_sheet_adolescents_for_website.pdf