Leader or a Follower?

Are you a "Leader" or a "Follower"? Do have a deep-seeded need to fit in with everybody else or are you really your own person? To be a leader, you have to be willing to be the one in front of the crowd. You must be able to make independent decisions about what you do and how you do it. In America today, the sheep are all drinking alcohol and one has to be a true leader to buck that trend. Why would you just follow the crowd anyway? Following the crowd and being a mindless clone is BORING!! There is no reason to let other people tell you how you should enjoy yourself. If you are in a setting where everybody else is drinking alcohol, you do not have to go along with them. Because this is America, you really do have the freedom to enjoy a a safe and sober night if you choose.

Being an individual and making your own decisions is freeing and empowering. It does sometimes take strength and even character to be the only sober person in a bar or some other traditionally alcohol immersed setting. Even with that natural pressure to follow the crowd, hanging out with friends and meeting new people is fun. In fact, that is exactly what makes it fun to go out or to private parties. The coolest people are doing their own thing because they want to live their own lives. If you have made the decision to ignore the marketing ploys that have made a lot of the American people believe that alcohol is required to have fun, then boldly and proudly enjoy your sober life. Choose to be a "Leader" and seriously consider whether drinking alcohol for entertainment really makes sense.

Alcohol Free America was started to present the notion that recreational alcohol is not the only way to have a good time. Even as CNN reports that more Americans are drinking alcohol (linked below), we encourage people to be true leaders and set the tone for their own lives. If you are strong enough to make your decisions then WHY BOTHER WITH ALCOHOL?

Feel free to share this anybody you know that is bold enough to take a stand against the norm in America today.

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• More Americans drinking alcohol (cnn.com)

Beer, Wine or a Milkshake?

I have heard from several people how much they "like" the taste of alcohol. Not sure how much I really believe them but my question is always "What is better, that wine you love or a milkshake?". Pretty rare for somebody to try to convince me that a glass of wine is better than a milkshake. Of course, nobody has EVER tried to say that beer tastes better than a milkshake. The problem is that alcohol is an acquired taste whereas a milkshake is is just good from the first time you try it. Now some people prefer the fruity drinks which they say taste so good. I would say those drinks are just as good without the alcohol and probably still not as good as a smoothie.  

The next part of this conversation typically turns to the calories in a milkshake versus alcohol. To be fair, a milkshake does tend to have a lot of calories in one 12 oz serving. According to freediet.com, one milkshake typically has about 408 calories which is three times as much as a 12 oz regular beer (139 calories), four times as much as a a light beer (103 calories) and almost 6 times as much as a 3.5 oz glass of wine (70 calories). However, very few people I know will only drink one beer if they are out. It does happen on occasion but not very often. The standard definition of a moderate male drinker is 2 drinks a day. By far, most people I have ever been out with drank least 3 drinks. If you figure that one milkshake is usually enough, the caloric intake gets to be pretty close to the same if you are talking about beer. You probably come out ahead with wine since 3 or even 4 glasses of wine would still be significantly fewer calories than 1 milkshake. For the record, whiskey, gin, vodka and rum all have more calories per fluid ounce than a milkshake.

With all of that being said, a milkshake is a lot safer than any recreational alcohol consumption. It tastes a lot better with a lot fewer negative side effects.

Why bother with alcohol?

REASONS NOT TO BOTHER WITH ALCOHOL.

Not an exhaustive list by any means but some very good reasons not to drink recreational alcohol:

REASONS NOT TO BOTHER WITH ALCOHOL.


1. Alcohol is a drug - The chemicals in alcohol impact your brain in exactly the same way that other drugs do.

2. Alcohol does not taste good - Even the fruity drinks that do taste good are just as good without the alcohol.

3. Alcohol known to be addictive - AA is such a large organization because people get addicted and cannot quit without assistance.

4. Alcohol kills brain cells - You can function without a few of the brain cells but there is a cumulative impact to long term drinking.

5. Alcohol destroys your liver - You cannot live without a liver and alcoholics are usually not eligible for a transplant.

6. Makes you do stupid things - Ever heard of Beer Goggles?

7. Lose control of car, gun, boat, etc... - Drunk drivers kill people every single day who were minding their own business.

8 Drunks are not attractive - Loud obnoxious drunks are not as magnetic as they think. Most people see them as a clown.

9. Vomit is not sexy - Drinking a lot will make you sick and who wants to kiss someone who just vomited.

10. Hangovers not worth it - Flu like symptoms that can be avoided probably should be avoided.

11. Alcohol poisoning CAN kill you - Every year there is another case of some college student who actually dies from alcohol poisoning.

12. Drunk people are an easy target - Women in a bar or anybody on the street should be frightened by the idea that predators prey on the weak,

13. Expensive habit - A meal at a nice restaurant for 2 people goes from $100 to $350 very quickly once you add wine or other drinks to the bill.

14. Want to remember a good time good time? - Blacking out is not conducive to remembering the good times.

15. Lots of ways it can get you arrested - DUI is obvious but public urination or some other foolish move can also cross the lines of legality.

16. Pathetic excuse for entertainment - Surely you can think of another way to entertain yourself.

17. Makes you smell like a brewery - Why would anybody be attracted to a bum?

18. Depressed alcoholics drink at home alone - Hardly the party alcohol is advertised to be.

19. Changes many people's personality - Often someone who is perfectly nice and/or pleasant becomes a babbling idiot on alcohol.

20. Want to be like everyone else, really? - Why not be a leader rather than an unthinking sheep.

21. Many religions directly oppose the abuse of alcohol. - Yes, they drank wine in biblical times but the abuse of alcohol is prohibited by many religions.

22. Not a good excuse for poor decisions - Alcohol often seems to give people an excuse to do things they know they should not do.

You can do better.

Seriously? The only thing that you can think of for entertainment on a Friday night is getting trashed at a bar? Recreational alcohol seems to be the default form of recreation and entertainment for a large portion of the population in the United States. This has always baffled me and I think Americans can do much better. For that matter, some people do much better. Here a list of better options off the top of my head:

• Attend some sporting event ... sober. Major league, minor league, recreational league or even even watch children play ball someplace. Baseball, basketball, football, soccer or tennis are all entertaining to watch at most any level even if you do not know anything about who is playing. 
• Participate in a sports activity. My childhood and adult life has been GREATLY enhanced by playing baseball, softball, basketball, tennis, golf, volleyball etc ... 
• Go see a movie
• Rent or download a move to watch at home
• Invite your friends over for dinner or go out to dinner
• Most cities have a lot of options for live music. Whether you like country, rock, rap or classical you can probably find some friends interested and find live music within driving distance of where you live. 
• Read a book. Not my cup of tea to sit at home to read but a lot of people love it. Finding a quiet place in the park can certainly be a nice treat on a pleasant afternoon.
• As a musician, I can tell you it provides great entertainment without alcohol. Never understood the need to mix in mind altering substances.

The point is that you can do better than defaulting to the concept that recreational alcohol is the only way to have fun. Use your imagination and find something better to do this weekend.

What makes social gatherings fun is the people, NOT the alcohol.

Have you ever been the only person at a gathering or event that was not drinking? This happens to me quite often and I can honestly tell you that it does not impair my ability to enjoy myself one iota. Last week I spent a lot of time with buddies who enjoyed recreational alcohol and the nights were very entertaining. Drunk people are just funny most of the time. When I was telling another friend about my week it occurred to me that I did indeed have a really good time. He asked me if it was ever annoying to be around people drinking and I had to admit that I have never had a problem with it. Other than the occasional babysitting duties for somebody out of control, being around people drinking is not at all uncomfortable for me. The truth is that people are fun to be around if you generally like them to begin with. I enjoy the company of most people. What they are doing as we chat does not impact me very often. Of course, I think I have the upper hand in any debate and will remember the night's events better than my friend who was too drunk to figure out the tip on his bill. I write this little note to point out very directly that I hold no ill will towards drinkers but I am confident that my path of no alcohol is just as fulfilling and fun as anything they ever do. What makes bars and gatherings fun is not the alcohol but the people.

www.alcoholscreening.org

This looks like a very well intended site. From the "Learn-More" part of the http://www.alcoholscreening.org/ site where they recommend drinking in moderation:

What is Moderation?
Women: No more than one drink a day
Men: No more than two drinks a day
(This limit is based on differences between the sexes in both weight and metabolism.)

Count as a Drink ...
12 ounces of regular beer (150 calories)
5 ounces of wine (100 calories)
1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits (100 calories)

If you think there is indeed a reason to drink alcohol at all, these are probably reasonable guidelines. Of course, very few people that drink really follow anything close to these limits and starting to drink at an early tends to drive heavier drinking as one ages. The site also states the that fact that "some studies suggest that older people may become more sensitive to the effects of alcohol as they age". Given the risks and no indicatin of any real benefit, why even bother with the limits set by the US Department of Health and Human Services quoted above.

Alcohol Increases Partner Violence

A study about violence within intimate relationships, published in January 2010, has been referenced in a few different articles lately. I actually heard about it on the radio when Dr Dean Edell referenced it. They studied 436 US couples and found a direct relationship between alcohol usage and violent behavior that actually went both ways. The surprising finding was that female on male violence doubled when the women drank. Not so surprising was that the male on female violence tripled when alcohol was involved. The study, which appears online and in the April issue of the journal Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, was co-authored by Dr. Raul Caetano is jarring because of the data about the women involved. However, it should not surprise anybody that alcohol changes your personality. Just another reason to make a conscious decision to avoid recreational alcohol.

Why bother with alcohol?!?