TypeCarl

Some thoughts on alcohol

Alcohol… I have this urge to write about this liquid substance known as alcohol.

I guess I am writing this because of how it has affected my life. No… I’m not an alchoholic. I actually am quite against drinking personally. I currently vow not to drink anymore without solid reasoning. However, I did go through a time where I did experiment with alcohol.

I just didn’t like it and never have. It tastes absolutely awful unless it’s diluted with sugar. I mean it lets you enter an altered state where some of your inhibitions are gone but… I just really like being sober… I don’t seem to be the norm.

Well… let’s take a look at alcohol. It seems to me that it is so ingrained in our cultre. Well actually, it has been ingrained in many cultures for thousands of years. I recall that it was widely used as an alternative to water since water could be contaminated. But… is there really a need for it? But that is probably a question I shouldn’t be asking just yet since I lack experience. However, here are some of my observations.

College… I went to The University of Texas, and it seems like everyone just drank a lot of alcohol. It was like a natural part of being a college student. But why?

My theory is that people just need a release from their current sense of reality. School for most students is like going through torture. If you look at kids in Africa, it sure isn’t torture, but in the middle to upper class world in America, it probably is. It’s all perspective. Alcohol seems to be an enabler for someone to take their mind off their “stressful” life as well as cross social norms dictated by others. Those old people sure like to tell us what to do.

Hmm… quick side step…

I think alcohol brings out our true thoughts. In other words, it brings out the voices in our head. In even more words, I think it brings out our stream of consciousness. I think many people have a lot of thoughts that they never verbally express. From personal experience, I actually end up being more vocal and expressive, but on the same basic subjects. I will say things I might never have said while sober, but I’m pretty much the same. However, some people completely change. They seem like a nice person when sober, but when they are intoxicated, they start becoming aggressive and go on a rampage. They are usually seen picking fights with people for good and terrible reasons. It’s amazing to see this transition. They seem to have this inner urge to fight constantly, and they just push those thoughts down when sober. I am really intrigued about this.

Another example is when my dad drinks a little at night. He obviously hasn’t had much, but he acts noticeably differently. He may sober up quite a bit, but he is still left in an altered state of mind. When this is mixed with some kind of frustration, a lot of things come out of his mouth that are quite unpleasant, but…. the important question for me is… are these his genuine thoughts before he suppresses them out? Is this his ego talking without any restraint?

To be more specific, my dad told me his feelings about me quitting my job and being at home. I know he didn’t really like it, but he took it to another level. I tried to remain peaceful, but he finally got a reaction out of me, and I said some very crude things at him.

Then what about the people who become… Well… I really don’t think I have enough experience to comment further.

I don’t know, what do you think?

I personally will not drink anymore unless there is a strong compelling reason for me to do so. The only situations I can think of is that I am put in a situation with other people of a foreign culture. I guess I’ll try anything once.

Oh yeah… I went through a short period where my friend tried to convince me that alcohol is healthy. I definitely found a lot of articles that supported this, but are the benefits just a result of how poor the typical American diet is? I eat extremely healthy (90%+ raw vegan). To me, it seems it will only hurt because alcohol is clearly toxic. This is also well documented as well.

This post has definitely gone all over the place. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Peacefully,

Carl

P.S. I’m not saying that everyone should stop drinking. However, there are situations such as drunk driving that make me feel that way. Well, you know how prohibition went anyway. I have a feeling this won’t be my last post on alcohol.