A person could get very angry at alcohol. I know that makes no sense, because alcohol has no mind of its own, doesn’t go to the store and purchase itself and doesn’t force itself down anyone’s throat, but I’m angry nonetheless. Perhaps I’m angry at the way alcohol is portrayed in the commercial media or the way the companies who produce alcohol throw in that asinine “helpful hint” about drinking responsibly. Sure. Isn’t that a little bit like the Big Bad Wolf giving a helpful hint to Little Red Riding Hood?

“Hey Red! It’ll be great seeing you at Grandmama’s house. Just remember that I’m a wolf, so act responsibly!”

The alcohol industry is a multi-billion dollar a year industry.Alcohol has a major role in almost every social gathering. From sports to christenings, from bar mitzvahs to dinners with friends, alcohol is the companion to food and fun. Vacations are no fun unless you drink, and drink excessively. Travel agents for all the great couples resorts will tell you: “only the premium liquors are served and remember, it’s all-inclusive! You can drink as much as you want!”

Everywhere you go the encouragement to imbibe beer, whiskey, rum, scotch, vodka, and various other intoxicants, is felt.

Television commercials during sports broadcasts push their alcoholic products every few minutes. The commercials themselves make it appear that if you don’t drink their product you are unattractive, unsuccessful, and will be unloved. It partners alcohol with the ability to not only enjoy the game you’re watching, but life itself. Life will basically be crap if you are not drinking.

Well-meaning friends will actually push alcohol on you. At baseball games there is always someone trying to get you to drink and then go out after to either celebrate or drown your sorrows. It’s always the same refrain:
“Aw, c’mon, just one more. Don’t let me drink alone.”

I remember being with my husband, Alan, at the home of a good friend who is an excellent chef of Asian cuisine. Twice over dinner, I had declined a new beer that had just come on the market. When she asked me for the third time, and I still said no, her husband put one in front of me anyway and tried to cajole me into drinking it. I politely took it and placed it next to my meal. It stayed there untouched for the rest of the evening.

Alan and I don’t drink except on rare occasions; a champagne toast at a wedding, one fancy mixed drink for dinner on a Caribbean vacation, maybe one liqueur on New Year’s Eve. There is no alcohol in our house. Why? We’re certainly not “holier-than- thou” people, far from it. No, the reasons for not drinking are more practical.

We found out that we could get to like it way too much. Drinking made us be “not nice” to each other. It didn’t eliminate stress, it added to it. Drinking brought out the “mean” in us and we didn’t like or want it.

Quite frankly, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with having a drink but,for far too many people, there is. More than half the marriages in the United States have been damaged or destroyed by spousal abuse of alcohol. Why?

Spousal abuse, both physical and emotional, go hand-in-hand with heavy drinking. Alcohol and violence form an unholy alliance. Many abusers don’t know when to stop drinking and others either don’t want to, or can’t. For these people, alcohol is a poison in their system.

While I would not advocate a return to any laws such as Prohibition, I would like to see more educational programs given on the potential problems that can be caused by alcohol. Let the liquor companies fund these programs but don’t let any liquor company “experts” teach the classes.This would be to avoid any unnecessary conflict of interest. Somehow objective thinking about a product and receiving a salary from the makers of the product don't seem to fit together.

If you find that you, (or your spouse), is drinking more than usual or that either of you are longing to get home or to a place where you can have a drink or two, or more, STOP. It may be time to evaluate your lifestyle and make some changes. If you find you NEED alcohol to enjoy life that’s when you know you have a problem. Do something immediately!Alcohol abuse does not solve any one problem; it creates many more.


Sacred Jude in my Life, Miracles Abound!!