The lessons of life are hard. We have been truly fortunate to have enjoyed such a great country and a time in history where our wants were always at the forefront of our thoughts and not our needs. Peer pressure is not an excuse, not when there is an almost limitless dearth of information at your fingertips. There have always been kids that didn't do something stupid because they analyzed the information, even though "all their friends are doing it." Even Though I can feel pity for the weak willed ones, the death and destruction caused by brainwashed zealots throughout history means that I cannot overlook the threat they pose and it tempers my pity. Although I will be saddened when many in my family and friends regret their decision, it will have been not without my dissent before they made their choice. We all make choices, some are good, some are bad, but we all pay the price or reap the rewards. The price they will pay will be a lesson for all humanity, one that will better the human race in the future.