Alcohol

A wedding dinner I had tonight prompted me to write something pertaining to the above-mentioned title. As we all know, alcohol is one of the many types of organic compounds in the homologous series of Organic Chemistry. But what I'm going to discuss now is nothing about methanol, ethanol, propanol or hexanol, but about alcoholic drinks, which I shall now refer to as simply alcohol.

So, what is so exciting or tempting about alcohol? It is just another ordinary soft drink. People drink to enjoy, perhaps, a certain meal or to have some chat with friends. But, the main question is that has alcohol brought more good than harm to society?

I have a true story here which I would like to tell you. My father was in the insurance line. He had a lot of friends and many, many years ago, he was a heavy drinker, like his friends. Frequently, he would come home totally drunk and of unsound mind. There were even times when he could not even get out of the car upon returning and slept in it.

This made me share a strong hatred for any drink related to alcohol since I was very young, as young as five years old. When I, unintentionally, first tasted liquor, it was terrible! I didn't like it at all and I still couldn't understand why there are people who think that liquor is a nice beverage. Neither did I like the bitter taste of beer and therefore cannot comprehend why beer companies can still make millions of profit from it.

To me, drinking alcoholic drinks is like smoking cigarettes. Is there a definite benefit from drinking alcohol? Perhaps there is one, but people, being human, often cross the limits. People often drink more than they should, and they enjoy the feel of being "high". And always, these people become a burden to others, especially to family members.

I wish to highlight a bit of my disappointment on how wasting these heavy drinkers can be while drinking alcoholic drinks. Most of these people do not drink wine or liquor bit by bit. They pour one big glass of liquor and down in one, single gulp. They seem to think that to be able to down the liquor in one gulp proves the "manliness" of that particular person. I say that is total nonsense! What is so great about drinking liquor or wine like that without enjoying the full taste and the aroma of it? They down the liquor or wine as if it is water, and they could hardly enjoy the full taste of their drinks, which totally defeats the purpose of purchasing such expensive beverages.

Alcohol, I must say, has put a great impact in my life. When I see people drunk, I frown involuntarily and become uncommunicative towards them. If I see my father drunk, I suddenly have a dislike of him. I know that alcohol is my worst enemy and there is nothing that I can really do.

People who are drunk often think that they are not; they think that they are always in the right and you are always in the wrong when you are talking about a certain thing. It is obvious that their state of mind becomes shaky and yet they persistently deny that fact. Their behaviour becomes annoying and disgusting to me. In fact, I have very bad impression of people who drink alcohol and get drunk. It is already bad enough to drink alcohol, and to get drunk because of it seems like a weakness to me. Well, after all, it seems like instead of you controlling alcohol, it is alcohol that is controlling the person!

So, the question still remains: what is so great about alcoholic drinks? To me, they are practically nothing but drinks that taste unpalatable and contain organic compounds known as Ethanol. What is it that Coca Cola, Pepsi, tea, coffee and other beverages are less preferred to alcohol, especially in wedding dinners and other functions?

One more thing I dislike is that people who love to drink alcohol always and will not stop persisting those who don't drink to try. Also, they will persist other people who drink to drink more! It is like before you can finish your cup of wine, somebody just comes in and pours more wine into your cup, without your consent! So, those who have enough of wine would find it shocking that their quarter-full glass suddenly becomes brim full!

It has been thirteen years since I first showed hatred to alcohol and I am, indeed, anti-alcohol. Until today, I refuse to consume alcoholic drinks for the same reason I refused to drink alcohol when I was young. To me, alcohol doesn't bring real benefits to society. In fact, in history, it has indeed caused the downfall of one particular society before.

Would mankind and society be of any difference if alcoholic drinks just simply did not exist?

I have nothing against alcohol (not alcoholic drinks) that are used properly, such as for medicinal purposes or manufacturing purposes. However, as drinks, I just don't see its benefits. Firstly, it's not good for your liver and, if taken too much, can cause deaths, too!

I think that it is rather pathetic that people get addicted to alcoholic drinks. What if the government decided to ban alcoholic drinks and cigarettes here? Would it be a bad thing, after all?

Perhaps soon we can have a debate: "This house would ban all alcoholic drinks."