Hopelessness

Binge-drinking is a major canker on NZ society's skin. All manner of reasons have been put forward to explain its rise in the last decade. In an opinion piece in the Otago Daily Times, David Seymour, a policy analyst in Saskatchewan, Canada, and an expatriate New Zealander, focuses on a word which is implied rather than use in his article: hopelessness.

"The result is thousands of youth in education devoid of real meaning."

"[youth] come to believe that our way of life is unsustainable, even immoral, and any success they have in it will be nullified by environmental costs"

"The only real long-term solution to youth alcohol abuse is to attack its root cause; the diminishing ability of youth to make a difference in their own lives."

You can read the complete article here.