UNITED STATES—I thought about rather I should share this tale and it hit me absolutely without a doubt. Why? It lets you know we all have problems and we all have to grapple with them even if we attempt to weave the narrative that EVERYTHING in our life is perfect. Alcohol is heavy on both sides of my family, my mother and my father. I don’t know if that is the reason I do not drink alcohol or not, but it could be the reason.
Why do I say that? All of my siblings, except my youngest sister drink alcohol and when they drink they are not always pleasant to be around! I list drinkers as three types 1) Goofy 2) Chill/Relaxed 3) Angry. The angry drunk is perhaps the worst and two of my brothers fall squarely in that category. That whole notion that alcohol forces people to speak their truth I don’t fully buy it. I do believe some people just utilize alcohol as that clutch for them to behave a certain way.
Here is the issue with that: you cannot always blame your behavior on alcohol use. If you’re doing that it says a lot, precisely the fact that you might have a problem that you’re ignoring and you need to address and stop hiding from it. If you act an ass and think well I’ll just say my behavior was a direct result of me drinking more than I should have you’re not taking accountability for your actions and I have witnessed that more times than I can count America.
It reaches a point to where I just don’t want to hear it anymore, don’t give me that excuse over and over again, and expect me to just accept it as the norm. No, I’m over it, I’m tired of it and it’s outdated at this point people. You have people who drink socially and people who drink to get drunk. I have a lot of people in my family who drink to get drunk and mask the issues and emotions they’re dealing with. Ok, I can understand that to a degree, but you’re not addressing the issue if you’re drowning the issue with alcohol. You’re putting it in a box that you refuse to open until you have to open it.
I do not want to be in a position, where I constantly have to explain my or someone’s bad behavior because they drank too much and couldn’t control their antics. I was witness to such behavior recently and not only was I embarrassed I was so frustrated to have to be witness to such. You can apologize, but if the apology is NOT genuine what good is it people. The most troubling issue is people seem to take issue with people who don’t drink. I get so sick and tired of being asked “Why are you not drinking?” I’m not drinking because I’m not a drinker! It is that simple it is something I do not do. I do not have to have alcohol, rather it be beer, liquor or wine to have a good time.
Just imagine a world where people are forced to operate without alcohol. Can you imagine? We wouldn’t be put in this situation of worrying about someone behind the wheel drunk and endangering the lives of others. We wouldn’t have to worry about bar fights, people vomiting or just behaving badly because they couldn’t control their liquor. One can dream, it likely will never happen, that’s like saying we actually address the issue of gun control in America. Nice to think about it, but seeing it actually transpire would be like wishing and getting a million dollars, it just is not happening.
Simply put, alcohol should not be a driving force to motivate you to get out of bed, if it is you indeed have a problem and you need to address it before you spiral down a dark path that you cannot get out of.
