Whether or not you were a fan of her music, you cannot deny that the late Whitney Houston deserves her place in music history. She was one of the most honored singers of her time, and even in an era when one might not think there were barriers to break, she burst through. Some of us still get chills thinking about her performance at the 1991 Super Bowl, igniting a national feeling of patriotism during wartime:

When a person dies young, especially a celebrity possessing a high level of talent as Houston had, we are naturally shocked. Even if that person has suffered various demons like abuse, hard drug addiction, and other issues, we want to believe that person is turning things around and getting back on track. Since Houston’s death we’ve seen the media saturate with tributes and recaps of her turbulent marriage and drug use. We’ve seen people turn her death into a political statement – Tony Bennett immediately called for legalization. While we appreciate Mr. Bennett’s activism, the truth of the matter is that while Houston had admitted to past cannabis use, legal drugs more than likely killed her.

The latest report we’re hearing is that Houston died from a lethal combination of alcohol and prescription drugs. It is devastating to contemplate that Houston’s death could have been avoided, but if we can take anything from this news it’s that these situations are preventable.

Now, we can lecture for days on what could have been done, or whether or not hard drugs created the gateway for Houston’s decline. Enough people are doing that in the media now. We will instead choose to remember the gift of music given to us by a talented lady who left us too soon, and pray that she is at rest.