A Dream Out of Reach

A mother sleeps peacefully in her soft cushioned bed following a hectic day of work. The bills are paid; her children are doing great in school. She has no worries. So, after a hard week of work, she decided to go to bed early; only to be woken to the flamboyant flashes of a police car at 3 a.m. Stumbling to her front door, outside she is confronted by an officer with a somber look on his face. Through his tight mouth the officer looks at her and says, “Ma’am, I’m sorry to inform you, but your son, Charlie Davidson, was found at a party and is not alive anymore. He drank too much, and his body couldn’t take it. I’m so sorry to inform you like this, this early in the morning.” In a flash, this mother’s life is shattered. She can’t eat, sleep, or work. She spends her nights crying, wishing she had been awake to stop her son from going to that party.

She’s not the only mother that must endure this heartache and pain. Millions suffer from the deadly affects of alcohol. According to Oxford Journals, 33% to 69% of those who committed suicide were found throughout several countries to have a high concentration level of alcohol in their blood. Dependent alcohol drinkers have 60-120 times greater chance of committing suicide compared to those who are mentally ill or just depressed due to the decrease in serotonin ( a chemical in the brain that makes you happy) .

Alcohol increases violence around the nation. People who drive after drinking a large amount are risking their lives as well as others on the road. These drivers cause heart ache around the world because they selfishly drink and drive. After consuming alcohol, their reaction time is greatly delayed and their ability to control their anger is diminished, thus increasing the chances of a serious or even fatal accident. Alcohol is raved about throughout the world, promoting it as a beneficial product to enhance a “good time”. But when it comes down to it, what good is it? Is it impossible for a party to be fun without alcohol? Are people so insecure that they have to consume something to allow them to “relax”, “be crazy” or have “fun”? If I could change one thing in the world, I would change it by eliminating the poison of alcohol.

Augustine J. Duganne once said, “Pleasure which must be enjoyed at the expense of another's pain, can never be enjoyed by a worthy mind. Pleasure's couch is virtues grave.” Throughout society, people often do not look at alcohol realistically. Many even praise it. All the commercials on alcohol have imprinted in America’s mind that drinking can do no harm. When people think about a Corona beer, they associate it with a beach or a party. They don’t associate this drink with death or violence.

Alcohol decreases common sense and increases violence. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and the National Institute on Alcohol abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol is the number one drug problem in America today. Alcohol is a major contributing factor in all of the following violent events: 73% of all felonies, 73% of child beating, 41% of rape cases, 81% of wife battering, 72% of stabbings, and 83% of homicides.

Try to imagine, for just a moment, a world without alcohol. Sure, all the violence in the world would not disappear, but if the source of much of the violence were removed, the world would be a much better place. Alcohol-induced violence would no longer exist. Drunken rages gone. Embarrassing drunken moments forgotten. No longer would there be sons or daughters killed by a drunk driver or killed by alcohol poisoning at a party that got out of hand. No more tears for these lost souls. No longer would there by alcohol treatment centers. Yes, those would be a thing of the long forgotten past.

America has more than 12 million alcoholics. According to a study in 2000, nearly 7 million people between the ages of 12-20 are binge drinkers. People who drink before the age of fifteen are four times more likely to become an alcoholic. If alcohol was eliminated, 15 year olds and younger would not be at risk of becoming future alcoholics.

The 18th Amendment, enacted in January, 1919, banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol, thus the beginning of the “Prohibition” years. It was repealed in 1933, making it the only amendment in history to ever be repealed. This is the sad truth that eliminating alcohol is impossible in United States. After World War I, many people were tired of making “sacrifices and wanted to enjoy life”. So, of course, people worked their way around the law and had secretive clubs that served alcohol, even during the Prohibition years. Technology has greatly increased since World War I and America should be able to better regulate alcohol compared to the 1920’s. Of course, it would be a difficult law to enforce for the first five to ten years, maybe more, because alcoholics and partiers would rebel. It’s inevitable. Once alcoholics go through detox and no longer crave it, the idea of no alcohol would become more familiar and their rebellion will soon decrease. The U.S. needs to start looking at the big picture of their decisions and the impact these decisions have on society as a whole. Making a law, such as no alcohol, will be ridiculed and rebuked for years, but, hopefully, eventually the rebellion will decrease and citizens will eventually accept this new way once people see the actual benefits it would have on society and our future generations. With so much less violence and alcohol related deaths, people would realize what an evil it has been and how much pain it has caused throughout so many years.

It is hard to accept the fact that alcohol will ever be completely eliminated from our society because, whether we like it or not, people will find a way to get it. However, if it were more difficult to obtain, hopefully the consumption of alcohol would decrease. This means that felonies, homicides, child beating, wife battering, and rape cases would be greatly decreased because the source of this violence would also be decreased. Sadly, alcohol abuse will probably always be present in the world. If it is recognized and discouraged, we can work to prevent lives from being lost from this poison. Life is fragile and people need to start taking care of it.

What do the Woodland Park High School Students think about alcohol? I conducted a survey to find out. In my small English class consisting of 20 students, 13 out of 15 students believe that it is possible to have fun at a party without alcohol, even after the age of 21. Another question in my survey asked “How many people do you think die in one year in America due to alcohol abuse?” Five students believed 5,000-10,000 people, eight students believed 10,000-50,000 people and only two students believed 50,000-100,000 people die in one year due to alcohol abuse. Astonishingly, according to The Partnership of drugfree.org, more than 100,000 people die a year in America due to alcohol related issues. The third question I asked the class was “If you could completely eliminate alcohol throughout the world, would you?” Thirteen students said they wouldn’t and two said they would. Their reasons for not eliminating alcohol varied from “It’s good for you” to “Free will” to “Religious purposes”. The two students who agreed it should be eliminated said that it is abused too often.

Although it is scientifically proven that a glass of wine is good for lowering your blood pressure, there are other, healthier ways you can lower blood pressure such as exercising and eating healthy. Therefore, the statement, “Alcohol is good for you”, isn’t quite accurate and does not provide a high-quality reason of why not to eliminate it. “Free will” was another reason not to eliminate alcohol. Free will only goes so far. It’s illegal to murder someone, yet, should we make it legal simply because every person has a free will to do whatever they want? Should not the morality of providing the best for society as a whole supersede individual free will in our laws? “Religious purposes” was another reason not to eliminate it. Many religions use wine to represent the blood of Jesus Christ, some use grape juice. Would any drink be less symbolic or sacred?

It’s heart aching to see so many intelligent people ignore the negative effects that alcohol has. Yes, the majority of people realize that it is possible to have fun and party without alcohol and it does kill thousands of people a year and increases actions of violence. Yet, society is caught in a web of desire and forces them to ignore the negative side effects. Most people will agree to not eliminate alcohol, fully aware of the consequences. What’s holding us back? The endless alcohol commercial that brings laughter to so many households is slowly making it an object that we associate with joy instead of recognizing the violence and death that in reality it causes more often than not. We choose to ignore what is happening within our own backyards and selfishly continue whatever is causing it. Imagine a world full of laughter and joy, without alcohol, violence, and death.

A world without alcohol…..this is my dream…..a dream that is far from reach in our troubled world today.