I'm not and have never been an alcoholic. But I have have family members that are (or rather were, before they died from it) and often felt that it's something that I could easily slip into myself if I didn't make a conscious effort to avoid all non-social drinking. So alcoholism is something I have spent some time researching.
> Does anyone actually know anyone who drinks more than 2 drinks every day? The only people I knew like that were homeless
My uncle died a couple years ago. He was a functional alcoholic and workaholic for almost his whole life, until his age caught up with him and he couldn't work anymore. Then he just became an alcoholic. He was a multi-millionaire when he died, so he could have afforded the help if he wanted it and could have admitted to anyone (not least of all himself) that he had a problem.
Alcohol itself is not a problem. Alcohol ADDICTION is a very serious problem that does not get anywhere near the attention and seriousness that it should.
> Am I naive for thinking that everyone knows that Alcohol is not good for them?
Yes. And of those who know, many simply don't care and value the buzz more than the health downsides. Or feel helpless to stop due to the grip of addition. Or are so far gone that they secretly hope for an early death.
> You also can't ban alcohol.
I agree that a flat-out alcohol ban would be a failure. It was already tried and not only did it not work and caused all kinds of strife, it essentially gave rise to organized crime. If it was tried today, it would look identical to the War on Drugs which did nothing to help society, lined the pockets for various government organizations, contractors, and politicians, and filled prisons with non-violent offenders.
> I barely drink, but its undeniably important to our culture.
I'll agree that it is "important" in the sense that it is omnipresent in many people's daily lives. Even if I don't drink regularly, many friends, families, and neighbors do. People drink on the TV shows I watch. Co-workers make jokes about how many beers it takes to debug a particular program. People I know die directly or indirectly from it.
But is it a necessary part of any culture? Absolutely not. And just to be clear, I'm not arguing for a ban or any other method, but when I ask myself whether the world would be better off without mass alcohol consumption, the answer is an unequivocal yes.
> Does anyone actually know anyone who drinks more than 2 drinks every day? The only people I knew like that were homeless
My uncle died a couple years ago. He was a functional alcoholic and workaholic for almost his whole life, until his age caught up with him and he couldn't work anymore. Then he just became an alcoholic. He was a multi-millionaire when he died, so he could have afforded the help if he wanted it and could have admitted to anyone (not least of all himself) that he had a problem.
Alcohol itself is not a problem. Alcohol ADDICTION is a very serious problem that does not get anywhere near the attention and seriousness that it should.
> Am I naive for thinking that everyone knows that Alcohol is not good for them?
Yes. And of those who know, many simply don't care and value the buzz more than the health downsides. Or feel helpless to stop due to the grip of addition. Or are so far gone that they secretly hope for an early death.
> You also can't ban alcohol.
I agree that a flat-out alcohol ban would be a failure. It was already tried and not only did it not work and caused all kinds of strife, it essentially gave rise to organized crime. If it was tried today, it would look identical to the War on Drugs which did nothing to help society, lined the pockets for various government organizations, contractors, and politicians, and filled prisons with non-violent offenders.
> I barely drink, but its undeniably important to our culture.
I'll agree that it is "important" in the sense that it is omnipresent in many people's daily lives. Even if I don't drink regularly, many friends, families, and neighbors do. People drink on the TV shows I watch. Co-workers make jokes about how many beers it takes to debug a particular program. People I know die directly or indirectly from it.
But is it a necessary part of any culture? Absolutely not. And just to be clear, I'm not arguing for a ban or any other method, but when I ask myself whether the world would be better off without mass alcohol consumption, the answer is an unequivocal yes.