You Can't Be Straight Edge "For Now"

I love when I search the net for Straight Edge news and come across articles in local newspapers that cover Straight Edge kids in their area.  It's always a nice feeling to see a positive news story that shows how SxE is a lifestyle choice for making one's life better.  I just came across the article I Am ... Straight Edge in the Hartford Courant about a 16 year old boy that found out about Straight Edge from a band he liked.

However I would like there to be more positive and uplifting stories about SxE that involve older people that are past the age of 21, people such as myself, that have chosen to be Straight Edge to improve their lives.   Because when you read about a 16 year old kid saying he's Straight Edge people always think that they'll break edge when they are 21.  Sadly this kid even says "I'm not saying I'm never going to drink or to try stuff, but for now, never, I have no desire to." which to me shows that he's not commited to being Straight Edge.  I think that if you don't want to drink or smoke, that's fine, but don't claim to be SxE without making that claim something you truly mean.

Saying "I'm going to be Straight Edge this weekend" or anything that's limited is a lie and a slap in the face to everyone that claims to be SxE for life.  SxE is a lifestyle that shouldn't be seen as a temporary decision.  Now I'm not saying that you can't chose to no longer be Edge at a later time in your life, but it's not something you should go into by saying "for now."  If you don't want to drink, just don't drink, but don't label yourself something you truly aren't.  It's liek saying I'm going to be Vegan this month.  Being Vegan is a lifestyle chosen for a reason, often chosen based on views about animal cruelty.  So how do you say I'll be Vegan and be against eating the flesh of animals cause it's wrong for a month and then go back to being a carnivore, it's silly.

When in Rome...Make Your Own Choices

Many people that dislike Straight Edge or SxE people say that we shouldn't push our beliefs on them, that we should not make a statement about what we don't do. I think this is a rather limited and thoughtless way to think. This usually comes about when people talk about music, they feel that SxE bands don't have to talk about not drinking all the time. To me they just don't see their own music for what it is. Just listen to a Dropkick Murphy's album (I love them, so I'm not bashing them, just using them for a demonstration here) or many of today's rap albums and hear the amount of lyrics devoted to drinking and promiscuous sex. But I guess since everyone's doing it then it's okay. When in Rome do as the Romans do, right? Seems to me that when something is right in front of you and it's something you like, you don't notice how often it's slammed down your throat, or how much society tells you that it's okay. It's our choice to be Straight Edge, and when you listen to a SxE band and get annoyed for them saying they're Drug Free, it's your choice to turn it off. The same people that slam SxE are the same people that scream Freedom of Speech when Imus said crap on the radio. If you'd rather listen to people sing about getting drunk or f*cking hos, then that's your business. Me, I'd rather listen to something positive and uplifting, and now I think it's time to listen to some old school Youth of Today.

SxE Baseball Player

It's great when a positive role model of Straight Edge can be seen outside the Hardcore scene. Not to say anything bad about hardcore. But when the media general always has something bad to say about SxE such as that Utah SxE kid getting 20 years for a 1998 stabbing (but read the comments, I really need to learn more about this particular incident) it really makes you proud to hear about someone that is truly posi.

So hear I want to talk about C.J. Wilson, a pitcher for the Texas Rangers and someone that is truly proud to be Straight Edge. He has a few SxE tattoos and something that I think is definitely awesome is that he has XXX stitched into his glove. C.J. is also a Taoist, and a college film major that will actually be doing new commercials for the team himself.