"They ruined my life before I even had one. How dare they? Someone should file a class-action lawsuit!" To some degree it's true. I'm a Born-Again-Christian and God has a way of letting me know when I need an "attitude adjustment".
Mine came as I watched a 300+ pound customer buying a couple of sodas and candy bars out of our vending machines. How dare I sell such damaging items! Couldn't I see I was ruining that man's health? Sugar is addictive and destructive. Don't I know how many people die of obesity-complications every year? Well. They're adults. They're making their own decisions.
God forgive me, our best customers are the fattest customers. We offer healthy options; flavored waters, diet sodas, healthy snacks but they'll never sell as well as a Coke and a Snickers bar. They choose to buy the unhealthy items, knowing the risks. They're just not eating responsibly.
It's the same thing with alcohol. Big Booze is no different from "Ron and Heather". They offer a product for people to enjoy. They don't want people ruining their children's brains prenatally, binge-drinking frat house deaths, or getting into DUI wrecks. They want to sell enough product so they can pay the mortgage and send their kids to summer camp. "Big Booze" doesn't want to hurt people. Even the heartless can say of course they don't it's bad for business but I always like to take a positive view.
I find it encouraging that all the ads I've seen for alcoholic products strongly encourage people to use them in moderation. They show a portion size. For the hard stuff, that's 1.5 ounces. They show people only having a 1.5 ounce portion while voice-overing the need to drink responsibly.
I forgive them.
My mother certainly didn't know what she was doing. In fact, the night she died I had a dream. She came to me and just surrounded me in love and regret. "I'm so sorry, Heather." she said "I love you" I could literally feel the depth of love she had. "I didn't know I'd hurt you! Please forgive me!" It was very easy to say yes, I forgave her, and meant it. I know that experience was a gift from God. We both needed that closure.
Some people shouldn't drink. My mom was one of them. Anyone with FAS shouldn't (we have an 80% addiction rate to alcohol and hard drugs). Certainly no one with bipolar disorder, or, I'd say, any mood disorder. About half the people who commit suicide have alcohol in their systems.
- Alcoholic mother
- Fetal Alcohol brain damage - hardwiring me for alcohol addiction.
- Bipolar disorder, same.
- Alcohol interferes with mood-stabilizer drugs. I didn't spend 25 years of my life in misery, only to get "straight"; just to throw it all away.
- When I'm depressed, I have strong suicidal impulses. It takes a lot of energy to fight them and the last thing I need then is lowered inhibitions.
I cannot drink responsibly, so I'm a teetotaler.
It's easy. I grew up hearing from my stepmother (thanks!) that I coudn't drink, I'd ruin my life. I drank a little but it screws with my moods and puts me in an unhappy "Mixed" state of agitation and depression. UGH.
Ron, my husband can drink responsibly. He had some trouble with portion size until I showed him, 5 ounces of wine. Once he saw and accepted that we moved onto the harder stuff. He purchased a "dose cup" 1.5 ounce "shot glass" along with his spiced rum. He realizes that it saves him a lot of money.
Everything in moderation.
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