Social Drinking

Before I write my daily post, I would like to take time to thank those men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this country and the world on this Memorial Day.

With that said, Memorial Day is a federal holiday. And with the majority of holidays, drinking alcohol is closely integrated with its celebration, whether that be wine with Christmas dinner, mimosas for Mother's Day, or a nice cold beer for the Fourth of July. Growing up in a household with parents and grandparents who never drank alcohol, I was ignorant to the amount of drinking that occurs in everyday life especially during holidays; and it's a great deal of drinking that takes place.

Of course, I well aware of the pressures of underage drinking but I never really fell into that scene. But once it became legal, it became more of a reason to drink. It is an simple reason to gather a group of people together just like dinner or sporting events. Sometimes, it's even difficult to find an activity as an adult that doesn't involve alcohol; as a result, those who don't want to drink are often isolated. Just think about it, even sports (e.g. volleyball, bowling, running) and arts (e.g. art+wine) have made alcohol one of the compelling reasons to do it. While there is a social rationale to drink, it often seems that people are using holidays as an excuse to drink even more.

Don't get me wrong, I love drinking nice cold hoppy IPAs and other drinks. But to put the emphasis that drinking is almost necessary to have a good time is just ridiculous. The drinking mindset can also skew people's perspective on personal responsibility for some (majority of times in the negative direction); I've heard "I'm never drinking (that much) ever again" too many times to count.

It's almost like many adults have lost the ability to enjoy themselves without thought of drinking. And this possibly add to the raise of under-aged drinking. I'm in no way saying that adults should stop drinking. I do think that people should not incorporate drinking alcohol as an essential aspect to every social activity they take partake in.