How much unhappiness would go away if no one drank? I don't know, not all of it certainly. But half? Ninety percent?
I first started thinking about this when I lived for a few years in Maldives, a Muslim country where almost no one drinks. They have their problems, to be sure, but mostly the people there are happy most of the time. You can't help being struck by it, coming from America where so many of us are unhappy even though we seem to have just about everything we could want or need, compared to much of the world at least.
Maldives is something of a paradise, of course—sun, sand, palm trees, ocean. Even so, if I imagine Maldivians drinking as much as Americans, it's difficult for me to see them so happy.
Only half of Americans drink, so what about the other half? Are they as happy as Maldivians? No, but I think the reason is that, even if you don't drink, you can't help living in Alcohol America. Family members, neighbors, co-workers and public officials drink, so there's no escaping it.
I know how Quixotic it must seem to others for me to be writing this blog, but dreams do come true and they all start somewhere. If, like King, I dream a better world, will it come? I do know that it begins with believing it can.
I have never used alcohol. Even when attending college, I used neither alcohol nor other drugs.
ReplyDeleteYet, when at parties, I was usually the one having the most fun. I was, indeed, happy (most of the time).
I feel fortunate that I did not depend on alcohol to be happy.
I did save a ton of money, and additionally, was always in control of my faculties.