Pop, Bang! When I had just heard it, I didn't think too much of what it might be. I was thinking, "Why is someone doing fireworks in the middle of the day?" BANG BANG! What is that noise? It's getting louder. Where's my brother? When is he getting home? I hope he has the keys because I forgot mine in the house. I saw my brother walking slowly down the street. "Matthew," I called, "hurry up and open the door!" He must have seen the fear in my face because his innocent smile quickly disappeared. Screeching tires come around the corner; I see two cars racing down the street. "MATTHEW GET OUT OF THE WAY!" I grab my brother and pull him to safety. "Get down GET DOWN!" As my brother and I crouched behind a car, questions raced through my mind, and I burned for some answers. How can this be happening to us? This is my neighborhood, and it is suppose to be safe! CRASH! BANG BANG! Oh my God! That's been the noise I heard. It was the bullets from a gun. I finally understood that there was an actual drive-by-shooting on my street, again. Why can't these jerks just get over it! The fact is neighborhoods across the nation are afflicted with these dangerous, even deadly, crimes. This unwanted experience was a wake up call for me in that I realized how big a problem violence in America actually is. Unfortunately, violent acts are not confined to drive-by-shootings. Every time there is a conflict among youth in America it involves some type of weapon and especially guns. Alcohol, growing up in a violent home, and access to guns are some main reasons why youth are solving their anger with violence. .
Violence is a major issue here in America and an obvious cause of violence is because of alcohol. Alcohol today is more than just a problem among adults, but it has become a problem among teens. During the past ten years we had witnessed a steady decline in the number of alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths in the youth population, but there is a rise also in alcohol consumption overall.