Do you agree?!
Question:
This is a quote from a book I am reading called dating for dummies, by Dr Joy Brown.
"Alcohol has been, is now, and will continue to be for the foreseeable futre the major drug of abuse in the country".example (more pilgrims drowned in the canals after getting drunk and falling overboard on Saturday nights than were killed by Native Americans)."
Answers:
Yes, we get to be free people who make decisions for ourselves. Alcohol is readily available b/c it's a desired good and therefore it is profitable to supply it in the marketplace.
Many people do abuse alcohol. Some use it as a crutch in social situations, some as a way to numb pain, others enjoy the effects a little too much, etc. There are also millions of people world-wide who enjoy it responsibly. The people who use alcohol for "the wrong reasons" are emotionally and mentally in a place that isn't going to disappear if we eliminate alcohol. They will still feel self-conscious, desperate, etc. - alcohol isn't necessarily the enemy, the mental state that allows for the development of alcoholism or need to use them to function normally is the culprit.
Let me also note that people abuse: their savings accounts; food; gambling, the list could go on forever. Should the government also ration food to people in specified caloric and fat gram amounts so that no person in the population becomes overweight - which is accompanied by a myriad of health problems. Should the government ration personal spending so that nobody ever goes into debt? I'm not fat, nor am I in debt so how come I need to be monitored and told what to do b/c some people are obese (regardless of why they're obese).
1) The government doesn't have the means to monitor all of this financially no do they have the man-power 2) it would be an immoral, unconstitutional restriction on the citizens of this country.
Yes - alcoholism is a true problem for many. Yes - alcohol inhibits motor and decision making skills.
I don't want to fire missiles at you - but have you REALLY thought about this? Prohibition did nothing to stop people from drinking alcohol, and the illegalizing of marijuana and cocaine (you could purchase heroin/syringes and opium through the Sears&Robuck catalogue up until the early 1900's) does nothing to stop people from using it. The system just goes underground.
I'm not defending overuse of drugs as this stifles productivity (which is a personal choice) but it has effects on others (if you make no money, steal things to pay for drugs.you're a drain on society). I am defending the right of average person to make decsions on their own which affect their lives. I'm blasting the idea of Big Brother-like control and spying on the people.
Further, why should responsible people be limited in their ability to have a glass of wine at the end of a long day? Shall we put CA grape growers and wine producers out of business?
Think about this some more, and I think you'll see what I'm saying.
**
A glass of wine may or may not get a person buzzed but people still enjoy the art of tasting a finely crafted wine. Further, red wine contains a chemical, trans-Resveraterol, which fights certain cancers. While this is a nice find, it is irrelevant to my argument – so let’s assume that there is no inherent health benefit gained from the consumption of alcohol – nor from smoking cigarettes.
You talk about your “friends in high school that go to school plastered because their parents know how to drink responsibly but they don’t.” You just destroyed your argument completely with that statement: first, you’re right, kids in high school in the U.S do NOT KNOW how to drink responsibly. This is why it IS illegal for them. No high school student has the experience or capacity to undertake many responsibilities which could cause life-long effects. Example: thinking it’s “cool” to be sh**faced in school, so they get pulled over w/ a DUI – that stays on your record my friend. They’re PARENTS are (hopefully) of legal drinking age; they have undergone many events in their lifetimes which amount to far more experience and understanding than any of their children can understand at 15 years old. Not all adults make good decisions, not all parents are all that responsible, but at least they’ve gone through enough in life to perhaps better prepare them to handle certain things like having children or drinking alcohol. It’s against the law for your friends to drink; the end of that.
I think you are over generalizing the use of alcohol more than I can put into words. Every person who drinks alcohol does not become an addict. So, if people can handle alcohol responsibly why should the NOT consume it? You say “because there is no benefit” well…there is no more harm done in that glass of wine than in perhaps a sugary, fatty cookie. Too much wine gives you a buzz and stresses your liver; too many cookies give surges sugar through your system and clogs your arteries. Cookies hold no inherent benefit, yet we enjoy them nevertheless.
No statistics can prove that responsible alcohol use is negative to society; so while you may personally find its consumption to be an undesirable altering of one’s mind – YOU can abstain from it. But please, don’t advocate the reneging of rights from people when it is not warranted. Your personal philosophies on life may not be applicable to society and especially not in the law making arena. The law must take a conscious and deliberate path which does not arbitrarily rule to punish good citizens for the mistakes and unfortunate addictions of others.
Other Answers:
I agree. Alcohol is legal and widely available.
yes i agree
I agree. The problem runs in my family and our circle of friends more than any other vice besides tobacco.
yep
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