Article March 14, 1994 Issue

Don't be taken in by appeals to abuse alcohol

Mark Swinney

Currently, there is a widespread advertising campaign for a well-known beer that includes a statement which, to me, is unnerving. "Proud to be your Bud," sing the commercials over and over and over. The last thing I'd want for a "buddy" is a can of beer.

Such a commercial, though, illustrates the almost subliminal message planted in thought. In this case, inanimate beer announces its friendship to you. If you are lonely or need help, pour your "friend"—alcohol—into yourself. Sometimes people in certain cultures, areas of the world, or social segments are portrayed as being more susceptible to alcohol. For instance, music about cowboys in the western United States may romanticize feeling depressed and getting drunk.

Yet if you ask one of those cowboys, he'll tell you that there's nothing romantic about it. I've cleaned up after friends in college who had thrown up after bouts of drinking to testify to that. "There is no enjoyment in getting drunk, in becoming a fool or an object of loathing; but there is a very sharp remembrance of it, a suffering inconceivably terrible to man's self-respect," writes Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health (pp. 406-407).

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

Send a comment to the editors
NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Article
Yes, we can help
March 14, 1994
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit