BobbyMike
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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: "Children are a gift from God, they are a reward"
Posts: 1049 |
"(I usually drink a beer three or four nights a week, but rarely drink more than two per night). Of course, I also think that Americans in general have a really uptight attitude about that sort of thing."
I'm sorry I wasn't clearer. I meant drinking in the sense that you drink. I got a sixpack of Guinness and a sixpack of ale for St. Patricks day. It took my wife and I over a month to finish them. (We usually split one for dinner.)
As to the uptight thing, I actually see it the other way. Most people around here expect you to go out at least once a week and get hammered. They don't use the term 'falling down drunk', but what they describe come Monday morning sounds like that. We're actually a very tolerant culture when it comes to alcohol abuse. If we weren't, we wouldn't allow any kind of advertising. It's kind of like a bad habit we know we (meaning our culture) have, but we haven't really gotten around to getting rid of.
If you're a kid and you see your parents get drunk in front of you regularly, it will affect you- one way or the other. If your parents drink one or two beers (or a glass of wine) on a semi-regular basis, but you never, or rarely, see them drink to excess you won't be affected in quite the same way.
If your kids see you take mood altering drugs (prescription or illegal) on a regular basis instead of any of the myriad of other choices, it will definitely affect them.
It's not a matter of right or wrong, but of outcomes.
If we, as a culture, have a problem of drug/alcohol abuse/overuse it stems from no single thing.
Just like the Communist/Socialist intellectuals have seen what such a system actually produces (and also what rampant big business does), the results of having a personal belief system that encourages people to "do what feels good" and encourages them to "do whats right for me", but actually discourages people to take personal responsibility for their actions (and the results towards others around them) is bearing fruit now. You can't blame a 12 year old for making a horrible choice (drugs, violence) when his parents, schools, neighbors and government shirk personal and moral responsibility at every chance and expect everyone else involved to take up the slack. We parents are the first line of defense for our kids. I realize that lots of kids only have one active parent, for those kids others have to step in.
You need clear moral guidelines that you can pass down to your kids.
Example;
If you ask most people if stealing is wrong they will say yes.
Yet, how many people keep excess change when they get it from stores, etc. How many people try to take advantage of typos in circulars, even after they know it was a mistake and the store will lose money if they honor it.
If you find an object that's not yours, and you keep it without trying to find the owner, is that theft, or opportunity?
Situational morality breaks down because it leads to moral ambiguities.
Moral ambiguities arise from not have a clear cut moral code. It seem more people are afraid of offending someones feelings than they are of actually stating in public that they endorse a clear moral code.
And yes, this all relates to whether it's alright to take any substance at the the drop of a hat.
It's not about denying the worth of some medicines to some people, that would be stupid.
It's not about denying people the right to enjoy a pleasurabe experience, that would also be stupid.
It's about not delegating your responsibilities to another, be it a person or organization (religious, political, intellectual, or medical)
Wow that was long!
Michael
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"I am a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish."
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06-28-2001 05:22 AM
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