Why I Don’t Drink, and Why You Shouldn’t Either

People should be free to do anything they want that doesn’t harm others. The government should never interfere with anything, anything at all. I am NOT advocating that alcohol should be illegal. I am expressing why I choose to not drink and am advocating that others shouldn’t either. I make points that may offend you in this page so please leave now if you are easily offended.

1. Stuff Happens

2. Mental Purity

3. Mean Drunks

4. Alcoholism

5. Ill-Health

6. Kids Learn by Watching

7. Expensive

8. Escalation

9. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

10. Who I Hang Out With

11. Owning Firearms

1] Stuff Happens

When you are sober you can make an intelligent decision regarding not driving while under the influence. You can make a decision to not have unprotected sex with a stranger. You can make a decision to not operate dangerous, complex equipment when intoxicated. You can make a decision to not say things that you don’t want others to know. However, the second you take your first drink you are making an agreement with yourself to render yourself incapable of all those rational decisions. Your ability to reason is gone or disabled and all of the above things can now happen. You are now capable of deciding to drive while drunk, have sex with a stranger, operate equipment, say things without inhibition, and those events are unfixable once they happen. Waking up in the morning to find out you have a tattoo of a Volkswagon on your right bicep would stink. Waking up tomorrow morning in a bed with somebody you don’t know, somebody you now don’t think is attractive, somebody who wakes up and you realize that they aren’t a very nice person, or they’re 25 years older than you, or they were pretending to be a girl and they aren’t, or they make a call telling their friends that you’re married, are all lots of stuff that would really, really stink. Waking up in jail and not remembering the little girl you drove over last night but are now going to spend the next 25 years in jail for killing would stink [for you and the little girl, and for the thousand people who this would be bad for].

So I don’t drink.

2] Mental Purity

I am not a body, I am a brain that lives in a body. My brain is me. It works, it has clarity, it makes decisions based on my command, and if I do something stupid it is my fault and there are no excuses. If I drink, then my mind is no longer clear, functioning, capable of reason, and unable to remember events I had. Some people think this is fun and funny, I consider it a complete violation. I have a personality. It might not be your cup of tea, but it’s mine and I would like to keep it. Now if I were to be drunk, my personality would be different, and it wouldn’t be the one I chose to have.

So I don’t drink.

3] Mean Drunks

Some people who drink are very nice sober, and then are total jerks when they are drunk. They may say nasty things, they may hit somebody [child, wife, friend, stranger], they convert to a different person when intoxicated. What if I turn out to be a mean drunk? I’m not going to find out.

So I don’t drink.

4] Alcoholism

Every alcoholic had their first drink. They weren’t an alcoholic before their first drink, it happened as a result of drinking alcohol. What if I turn out to be an alcoholic and I just don’t know it yet because I don’t drink? I’m not going to find out.

So I don’t drink.

5] Ill health

Alcohol can bring on diabetes or intensify it. Alcohol can whack your liver. Alcohol can get you killed via crashes [I don’t consider alcohol related crashes as accidents, I consider them assaults], and it can get others killed.

So I don’t drink

6] Kids Learn by Watching

Kids don’t learn what you tell them. They defy you, they don’t pay attention to you, and other things. So when you tell them not to drink it is meaningless instruction. Kids will do what they see their parents do. If you drink and they see it, sense it, smell it, hear of it, or become aware of it in any way, they too will most likely drink. You telling them that it’s for adults only and they shouldn’t do it won’t mean a thing when they show up to a party and alcohol is available and they have seen you do it. They will defy you and drink. This goes for moms, dads, uncles, aunts, grandparents, teachers, pastors, anybody who they consider a role model or authority figure.

So I don’t drink,

7] Expensive

Alcohol costs money. Things that cost money ought to offer entertainment, service, product, should be an asset, not a liability, increase rather than diminish your life’s quality. Alcohol sucks money out of your wallet and converts it into disasters. The disasters may show themselves now or later, but they’re there nonetheless.

So I don’t drink.

8] Escalation

People escalate from one behavior to another. Marijuana is an escalatory drug, and so might be alcohol. Since you are rendered incapable of making rational decisions when intoxicated, then the rational decision to not take more severe drugs would be gone and the experimentation might occur. These escalations may include meth-amphetamines, which are so instantaneously addictive that people will go from a normal life to total addictive turmoil in a very short period of time. Smoking cigarettes, cigars, pipes, marijuana, crack, taking other drugs and drinking alcohol are all behaviors that can lead to these other behaviors. A beer with a cigarette. A joint with some PCP. None of this stuff is for me,

So I don’t drink.

9] Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Women who drink while pregnant most probably will damage the fetus and this child will have learning, processing and emotional problems their entire life. Furthermore, they will most-likely become alcoholics, and will most-likely drink while pregnant themselves. This, like poverty, seems to be generationally transmitted.

10] Who I Hang Out With

I don’t drink. I selected a woman to be my wife and one of the reasons was that she too does not drink. I do not want to be with an intoxicated person. I selected my friends. They don’t drink. I am not going to be friends with unreliables who drink. I do not want them telling other people things I have disclosed to them, which drunk idiots do. I do not do business with people who drink. I choose to not work for people who drink. I observe through telescopes with my friends. I do not need an intoxicated moron dropping one of my $800 eyepieces. When stuff like that happens it isn’t an accident. They drank and therefore made a decision to do stupid things with my property. That makes it a fault situation not a no-fault accident. Coworkers who drink are sick a lot and make up reasons about why they aren’t at work. “I wasn’t feeling very good” is a lousy thing to hear from a person who has a hangover. They lie, justify, and make the workplace miserable.

So I don’t drink.

11] Owning Firearms

I own firearms, which together with alcohol is amazingly insane. A responsible person with firearms generally is a good thing. Firearms keeps us free, safe and prepared. Alcohol and those firearms is an eventual disaster. When you remove your ability to make good decisions, and you have weapons nearby, you are a special kind of stupid.

So I don’t drink.

11B] Firearms Personal Checklist

I’m a pilot, and before I fly not only do I pre-flight my aircraft, but I also pre-flight myself. If I fail my own pre-flight, I do not fly. The method I use is called “I’m Safe”. IMSAFE is an acronym for Illness, Medicine, Sleep, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion. If I fail any of the items, I don’t fly. If I’m on medication, I don’t fly. If I’m sleepy, I don’t fly, etc. So since I mentioned that #11 involved firearms, I thought I’d additionally mention that I use IMSAFE before carrying my weapon. Concealed Carry has a huge responsibility, and a “pre-flight”, or in this case, a “pre-carry” checklist is warranted. I don’t drink, but if I did, it would stop me from carrying or using firearms. This included prescription drugs such as pain narcotics. When I had major back issues and was given intense narcotics at the hospital, and even steroids, I disallowed myself to carry as a result until I was certain they had been flushed of my system. The results of not following this have two levels. One is that a person could have an unintentional discharge resulting in a horrible event as a result of being less that suitable to carry. A second issue is that if a legitimate event occurred, such as defending myself and my wife against a criminal, even if justified, a civil suit against me could occur if they knew I was on alcohol or drugs, even if prescribed legitimately. So I choose to not carry if my IMSAFE fails.