Drinking Philosophy: A Study in America

Americas Puritanical Deprivation and Abstinence

I'd like to discuss in this post the habits of people in America who drink versus the European attitude.


First the American sensibilities were founded based on the puritanical philosophy, i.e. one must deprive oneself of all carnal lusts and temptations. This is further echoed in the protestant religions of the Bible Belt. And, it was canonized into the legal realm with the Blue Laws: no alcohol before a decent hour nor after a decent hour of the day; no alcohol on Sunday... etc. Also, the views of abstinence and puritanical eyes also falls into the same category: the naked body is an evil above all other evils to behold. All of this falls dangerously short in the area of violence. One can commit nigh heinous acts of violence for entertainment, but no drinking or smoking and definitely show no flesh.


All these prohibitions have led to one mindset: when i get a chance to drink, I will indulge myself to the fullest. In fact this philosophy is now accepted as the cool attitude towards drinking.

European Sensibilities Towards Drinking Alcohol

Let's quickly juxtapose this versus the European attitude toward drinking. It's actually a very archaic take on drink. During the bible age, i.e. the turn of the Julian calendar, one drank wine as much as one drank water. Of course, wine wasn't distilled to such a degree that four glasses would render you senseless and a buffoon, but it was as much a part of the meal as bread, and they ate a lot of bread. Consider one wheat stalk to make 12 loafs of unleavened bread [i made that up, I've never personally seen a wheat stalk], but you get the idea.




Now the modern European shares the same attitude as those ancient people. He eats his meal and drinks wine with it. Also if he wants to enjoy a liqueur he'll retire after the meal and have a nice discussion and a glass, not 5-10 and definitely not enough to render him stumbling. He knows he has to get on with his life, and can't be hampered by nursing a hangover. In fact it is looked down upon if one is drunk or can't handle the liquor. The attitude is, one shouldn't partake if one is going to be rendered drunk. This self same attitude of do not deprive oneself, is also seen in their view of nudity in public. One should be free to experience the world and be nude. There isn't then a rash of drunkards, nor and outbreak of rapists. In fact the Europeans are quite normal in their every day life.




Wish this familiarity with alcohol, from an early age, and exposure to nudity the European attitude is very nonchalant toward drinking. Compare that to Americans and we're seen as ravening beasts when we get our hands on alcohol. Also pubs, bars, lounges and such are hang outs for far more people overseas, so the club owner or bar owner doesn't have to greedily get everyone drunk in the place to make a profit. Imagine if 10 times more people come into your bar, there would be no need to encourage them to drink. You'd have your hands full serving alcohol anyway.
I don't have the statistics but when i lived in Europe I wasn't struck as it being serious nor heard of drunk driving as an issue at all. Iin fact, I don't believe I knew a homeless person or a drunkard.







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No Last Call

Drinking and Driving

Today I'd like to discuss drinking and driving. I feel it's especially appropriate for this holiday season. Specifically I'd like to discuss the city of Las Vegas.

Like New York, the city that never sleeps, Las Vegas has no "last call". Merry makers, party goers, boozers, bums and alcoholics alike can all indulge to their heart's content, and at all hours of the day. I do not have the statistics but Las Vegas boasts some of the highest rates of DUI in the nation. It is an incessant problem. These people crawl behind the wheel of a car and take their own and others' lives into their hands without a thought. They tell themselves they can handle it. They tell themselves they will never be caught. I have one acquaintance who says they drive "better" with a few drinks in his system.

Mayhaps they are not aware of the areas of the brain intoxicants can affect:

• depth perception
• reaction speed
• near sightedness
• far sightedness
• vision in general
• motor skills
• inner ear
• equilibrium

Just to name a few. The list is of course not comprehensive nor exhaustive. What's most bazaar is that Las Vegas has gamblers anonymous group and the casinos voluntarily assign a concierge or liaison to identify players with a problem, which is probably in their best interest, better to keep the fool working and playing than have him go broke today and not be able to return. But there is no prevalent push or awareness of hiring someone specifically to identify alcoholics. In fact the Gaming Board rarely convicts or punishes casinos who allow a clearly intoxicated player to over-leverage themselves. I mean there are cases, but walk around any casino on any given day and you can identify 20% of the place inebriated. And, yet still they let these same people to walk out the door and get behind the wheel of an SUV.

The Long Term Affects of Alcohol on the Brain and Body

BLACKOUTS AND MEMORY LAPSES

Alcohol can produce detectable impairments in memory after only a few drinks and, as the amount of alcohol increases, so does the degree of impairment. Large quantities of alcohol, especially when consumed quickly and on an empty stomach, can produce a blackout, or an interval of time for which the intoxicated person cannot recall key details of events, or even entire events.

ARE WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE TO ALCOHOL’S EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN?

Women are more vulnerable than men to many of the medical consequences of alcohol use.

BRAIN DAMAGE FROM OTHER CAUSES

People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be a result of the direct effects of alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor general health status or from severe liver disease.

For example, thiamine deficiency is a common occurrence in people with alcoholism and results from poor overall nutrition.

LIVER DISEASE

Most people realize that heavy, long–term drinking can damage the liver, the organ chiefly responsible for breaking down alcohol into harmless byproducts and clearing it from the body. But people may not be aware that prolonged liver dysfunction, such as liver cirrhosis resulting from excessive alcohol consumption, can harm the brain, leading to a serious and potentially fatal brain disorder known as hepatic encephalopathy

This post was just made as a short awareness post to bring attention to the problem.

In my next post I will discuss the reasons why in: Drinking Philosophy

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