Let's start a movement. Fuck alcohol. Let's get the truth out so other generations don't end up screwed before they have a choice. Every time I see a beer commercial, I don't find it funny or cute. First of all, these commercials are not the product of the company being advertised, they are the product of hipsters at advertising firms, and trust me, these people are not concerned with whether or not you get in your car and try to drive home after a few drinks...
They are concerned with promotions, bank accounts, reach, impressions, demographics, and overall success with advertising campaigns. It's a game. It's a smart ass (much like myself, because this is what I was trained to do), sitting in a cubicle in New York or Chicago who is trying to come up with the Next Big Thing so they can sell YOU enough shit to get a bigger apartment, a nicer car, and a hotter girl. It's a fraud, and every time you put that fucking poison to your lips you are aiding in perpetrating that fraud.
Alcohol companies don't want you to stop, just as cigarette companies have mastered the art of reverse psychology. Think about it. When is the last time you looked at the Surgeon General's warning and didn't chuckle at the obviousness of their message? We laugh in the face of warnings because we are stubborn as hell, and nobody wants to be told what to do. So the warnings become a joke.
These warnings, the skull and crossbones on cigarette packs in Canada, and the dead baby photos that are squarely tucked into packs of Marlboros in other countries, become badges of honor. We defy the truth because when facing the truth, most of us cower like puppies who've messed the carpet. Yet the proprietors of this sick substance continue to make a profit, and in the end, that's all that matters, right?
Dude. That's bullshit.
The death toll from alcohol in the past 20 years is greater than the death toll of every war we've ever fought combined. Are we to sit idly by as the brains of our peers become sodden with the dregs of whiskey and vodka and beer? For what? So we can get laid? Alcohol dependence and abuse cost the US approximately $220 billion in 2005. For the sake of comparison, this was greater than the amount of money spent to combat cancer ($196 billion) and obesity ($133 billion).*
Do you really want to support companies that not only advertise, but subliminally encourage cancer? They want you hooked, they want you out every night, they want you telling "dude, I was so drunk" stories at work because ALL of it adds zeros to their bottom line...
WAKE THE FUCK UP, PEOPLE.
The truth is out there and if you're not willing to stare it in the face and do what is right, you're a coward.
Not EVERYBODY who drinks is an alcoholic, and I understand and respect those who can put it down just as quickly as they picked it up. But alcohol is cunning, and often times, it hijacks that choice from us. I'm not calling out casual drinkers of alcohol, and for what it's worth, if you can put it down without a moments hesitation, then you're a better man than I. But, I think we all know, for many of us, that isn't the case. If you've ever had to consider whether or not you have a problem with alcohol (or any substance), chances are you already do. Nobody wants or likes to admit defeat, especially when everybody around you appears to still be winning...
It doesn't have to be that way, though. It doesn't have to get any worse than it already is. You don't need to get another DUI, or have another person you care about turn their back on you. It can all end right now.
The choice is up to you.
*Statistics from link provided below. Click on it. These numbers will blow your fucking mind.
http://www.treatment-centers.net/alcoholism-statistics.html
