Friday, February 26, 2016

The moral howling of teetotalism

I can deliver an hour-long lecture on why alcohol isn't good for anyone. Nothing great ever came out of it. Plain and simple. It's a mere method of distraction that often makes you pay more than you bargained for. The worst part being when you're back to your senses, you don't remember anything about the transaction. A blank page in your head; that's all that's left of the so-called good time. I avoid social gatherings because it's kind of mandatory nowadays for everyone to hold a glass of liquor. The steep rise of disposable income has led to higher intake of alcohol among our generation—comparatively. I'm often asked by people (who can't hold a conversation without some beer inside their belly) why am i so anti-social! My general refrain is i avoid talking to those who won't remember our conversation in the following afternoon. I blabber a lot but i take words seriously. If they insist to know the reason why i don't drink, i use allegories depending on the person in front of my face. If not, i humbly inform them about my dad's drinking problem. [I don't reveal he is two months shy of turning 69, drinks twice a day, never complains of hangover, clocks 12-13 hours of work for a salary of 10K at the end of the month, and trembles otherwise.] He's my only reference point to the world of addiction. Yes, there are people who drink moderately and don't create a scene but please tell me that they don't lose the plot every once in a while. Which is more than enough to do the damage. Because the genius of alcohol lies in its seduction. It's not your well-wisher but pretends to be. And that's something you can't enlighten the youth with. They are so afraid of being called a bore that they chug till their vowels and consonants have an orgy. That's the generation we've come up with. If a person decides to give up alcohol, they won't be proud of him. There will be no words of encouragement either. This despite the fact that not a week goes by they don't wake up saying “I'm never drinking again” to themselves.  

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