I didn't drink one single alcoholic beverage until I was in my twenties. It's not that I had anything against alcohol. It's just that it wasn't really in my reality. When I thought about what I was going to do during the weekend, alcohol never came into the picture. (Nothing very fun came into the picture at all, for that matter. I was a dork.) Now that I'm looking back with a little more wisdom and life experience, I should've drunk a lot sooner.
A little context: when I was growing up, noone in the immediate family (or heck, the whole extended family) drank a drop. With a little more perspective, I see now that that was a little bit weird and unusual. At the time, though, I thought it was normal. In movies, the good guys never drink, and anyone who does enjoy liquor is invariably a loser hanging around outside the seven-eleven. That, or a pirate on the high seas.
The truth is that in normal, healthy social situations, alcohol is ubiquitous. It's everywhere. When friends go out for dinner, it's typical to have some beer. When people party, they do it with cold beverages. A few glasses of wine transform an awkward date into a smooth, well-lubricated fling. (But, boys and girls, can we please move beyond the sexist "the guy always pays the bartab" thing already?)
Beer is thoroughly built into the cultures of the world. Before I drank, that was just one more thing that was always slightly "off" about me. It's part of the assumed background in most adult conversations, just like driving, sex, eating and sleeping. You don't have to be a regular drinker to achieve this background, but you need to have tried it at some point in your life, and not just a sip. Everyone should have the experience of getting drunk at least a few times, even if you still want to go totally straightedge afterwards. It's smart to at least try something before making a resolution to abstain from it.
I've heard some Christians claim that beer is an evil sin. Such Christians have probably never sat down to read through the entire Bible. Truth is, the earliest recorded miracle of Jesus was a party trick. He was at some friend's party and they ran out of wine. Jesus saved the day, swooping in and using his powers to turn water into wine. (Guy sounds pretty sweet to have around. He was also known to take fish and bread and multiply it to feed the masses, until he got a cease-and-desist order from the fish and bread industries and tarred by politicians for being a socialist.)
Doesn't alcohol kill brain cells? Yes, but if you've never enjoyed the very basic and common experience of being buzzed, it'll actually make you more intelligent. This is for the same sorts of reasons I wrote about in my article: Become More Intelligent By Doing New Things. And like I already mentioned, when I had never had an introduction to Bacchus, it just made me weird.
The first time I drank was at a club called The Nuthouse when I was 23 years old. It was Cinco de Mayo, I had just joined the seduction community, and I was going out to do "club game" for the first time ("club game" is community jargon for picking up girls in nightclubs). I was so out of place and weird on that first night out, it makes me grin when I think back to it. Everyone must've thought I was a space alien. Honestly I was scared stiff at the very idea of going to a nightclub and sampling the forbidden nightlife. Once I pushed through the fear, I had a great time. I had one margarita and I was smashed! I learned a lot from the experience and am definitely glad I did it.
Incidentally, out of the sexual partners I've had, in almost every case, our meetings or early dates involved generous helpings of brew. This is despite spending many nights deliberately trying to pick up girls while stone cold sober.
Of course I'm not advocating anyone become a raging alcoholic. If you're a heavy drinker, it'd probably be beneficial to cut back somewhat. But you won't fall into that spiral just from casual social drinking.
FURTHER READING
Read about Hashigo Zake, the Japanese art of barhopping.
Read about my first time hosting a party.
If you're interested in the crazy exploits of my late-blooming love life, read more about it in Campus Homelessness, Hygiene, and Showering.
A little context: when I was growing up, noone in the immediate family (or heck, the whole extended family) drank a drop. With a little more perspective, I see now that that was a little bit weird and unusual. At the time, though, I thought it was normal. In movies, the good guys never drink, and anyone who does enjoy liquor is invariably a loser hanging around outside the seven-eleven. That, or a pirate on the high seas.
The truth is that in normal, healthy social situations, alcohol is ubiquitous. It's everywhere. When friends go out for dinner, it's typical to have some beer. When people party, they do it with cold beverages. A few glasses of wine transform an awkward date into a smooth, well-lubricated fling. (But, boys and girls, can we please move beyond the sexist "the guy always pays the bartab" thing already?)
Beer is thoroughly built into the cultures of the world. Before I drank, that was just one more thing that was always slightly "off" about me. It's part of the assumed background in most adult conversations, just like driving, sex, eating and sleeping. You don't have to be a regular drinker to achieve this background, but you need to have tried it at some point in your life, and not just a sip. Everyone should have the experience of getting drunk at least a few times, even if you still want to go totally straightedge afterwards. It's smart to at least try something before making a resolution to abstain from it.
I've heard some Christians claim that beer is an evil sin. Such Christians have probably never sat down to read through the entire Bible. Truth is, the earliest recorded miracle of Jesus was a party trick. He was at some friend's party and they ran out of wine. Jesus saved the day, swooping in and using his powers to turn water into wine. (Guy sounds pretty sweet to have around. He was also known to take fish and bread and multiply it to feed the masses, until he got a cease-and-desist order from the fish and bread industries and tarred by politicians for being a socialist.)
Doesn't alcohol kill brain cells? Yes, but if you've never enjoyed the very basic and common experience of being buzzed, it'll actually make you more intelligent. This is for the same sorts of reasons I wrote about in my article: Become More Intelligent By Doing New Things. And like I already mentioned, when I had never had an introduction to Bacchus, it just made me weird.
The first time I drank was at a club called The Nuthouse when I was 23 years old. It was Cinco de Mayo, I had just joined the seduction community, and I was going out to do "club game" for the first time ("club game" is community jargon for picking up girls in nightclubs). I was so out of place and weird on that first night out, it makes me grin when I think back to it. Everyone must've thought I was a space alien. Honestly I was scared stiff at the very idea of going to a nightclub and sampling the forbidden nightlife. Once I pushed through the fear, I had a great time. I had one margarita and I was smashed! I learned a lot from the experience and am definitely glad I did it.
Incidentally, out of the sexual partners I've had, in almost every case, our meetings or early dates involved generous helpings of brew. This is despite spending many nights deliberately trying to pick up girls while stone cold sober.
Of course I'm not advocating anyone become a raging alcoholic. If you're a heavy drinker, it'd probably be beneficial to cut back somewhat. But you won't fall into that spiral just from casual social drinking.
FURTHER READING
Read about Hashigo Zake, the Japanese art of barhopping.
Read about my first time hosting a party.
If you're interested in the crazy exploits of my late-blooming love life, read more about it in Campus Homelessness, Hygiene, and Showering.
Posts
5 comments:
Uh... it's been my experience that it's perfectly possible to have a healthy, fun social gathering without alcohol, or even with only some of the participants drinking.
Alcohol is part of my reality, but I choose not to drink. While I can understand your points about so-called "sin" and trying new things, I'm certainly not convinced and I feel insulted by the first part of your article.
I agree with Clare. Alcohol isn't necessary for a good time for all people, so I don't think everyone needs to "try it at least once". I've found that the only people who feel that they need to try it are the ones who immediately buckle from peer pressure.
Oh and I would like to know how people do fall into the downwards spiral, if not from casual drinking. I mean how else would it start? Do people decide to purposely become raging alcoholics? You probably need to change your last statement to, "You may not fall into the spiral".
While I do not necessarily disagree with your statement, I found the actual blog entry rather weak in defending it. As far as I see you never provided a solid, definitive reason for trying alcohol. You just merely attacked those that disagree with you, and provided a few anecdotal reports of where alcohol "helped" you have a good time.
I would be interested in seeing an expanded blog entry where you could provide some real reasoning behind your argument, as it is indeed a topic that I am heavily interested in.
Wow...you sure are a bright one.
Maybe I should try a "little" Cocaine as well. Have you? Now, I'm not talking about just a small high, I'm talking about a real good high, a few times too!
Hey, I wonder if Jesus took the keys away from the party-goers chariots after He turned it into wine?
Hey bright one, learn a little about ANE culture and customs before you go speaking off the cuff about something you obviously have no clue about. The Bible, if you have indeed read it entirely like you insinuate, refers to "wine" as grapes still hanging on the vine. Also, it is stated in the Jewish code of conduct (Mishna and Talmud) that no alcoholic wine could be served at wedding festiviites. Weddings were a symbol of two seperate lives dying into one new life. Alcoholic wine is derived by death and decay (fermentation). It is not living like the juice from fresh squeezed grapes. Only fresh juice was used (called wine by those in the ANE: Greek--oinos) because it had life in it (enzymes).
Do your research!
One of the differences between cocaine and alcohol is that the former is illegal, therefore we shouldn't endorse it. But if it were legal and available as cheaply and easily and safely as alcohol, then yes, trying it once or twice would broaden you as a person.
Are you a big fan of Nancy Reagan by any chance?
Post a Comment