Failure to Communicate: Alcoholism - The new way to say you're sorry

It's not that odd, to a person who even casually watches the nightly news, to see our brightest stars and celebrities fall to drug addiction. The stresses of Hollywood, sudden rise from nothing to rich and famous - certainly these people have as many reasons as they have dollars. These actors and musicians are rarely looked down on. They're getting help for a problem, and that's a good thing.

Twice recently we've seen national figures admit themselves to rehab: Mel Gibson after his drunken racist rant, and former congressman Mark Foley after his supposedly drunken messages to a young male Congressional page.

Let's contrast these two with two public figures that I have a much easier time stomaching. This past August, Robin Williams entered rehab for alcohol abuse. His publicist released the statement, "After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect his and his family's privacy during this time." There was no traumatic public event leading up to his decision. No embarrassing mugshot, no horrific online conversations released to the press. Williams just made the smart decision, and I respect him all the more for it.

The same applies for fellow comedian, and one of my idols, George Carlin. At the end of 2004 Carlin moved himself into rehab because of alcohol and pain killer abuse.

The important difference here is the reasoning behind these men's decision to undergo treatment. On the one hand, we have two that made the decision themselves.

On the other we have an actor who only accepted treatment after he proved himself to be a public menace and a politician who, after facing a ruined career and FBI investigation, claimed he was drunk when sending the messages.

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