Thursday, July 07, 2005

Thoughts on alcohol

Travelling through the Ukraine made me think about how much the Irish obsess about alcohol an dthe obvious problems associated with it. Personally, i tired of the endless debate about the so called 'binge' drinking culture. Here i have seen people walking around with bottles of beer all through the day and at night, the locals gather together and play music and drink without any ugliness or violence. Surely there is a great lesson to be learned form this and i think it is a farce to blame so many problems on alcohol. It is the problems underneath that must be addressed because the high suicidal rate in the country is a more worrying problem. Mayeb if we spent more time and effort on more positive and spiritual studies then this would improve the mood and the balance in many disillusioned people's lives. Alcohol abuse will never end but if we have the appropriate resources and facilities to help those who are spiritually diseased, then this will lead to an improvement in the mental health of the country.
I also think that children should be allowed to consume a small amount of alcohol at a young age therefore rendering it harmless and not the treasured liquid that it seems to be. Imagining the same situation in Ireland last night seemed impossible to do but hopefully, this can change.