Who Ever Said Having an Alcoholic Beverage Was a Crime?

Who ever said having an alcoholic beverage was a crime? What about everyday hard working Americans who take care of his/her responsibilities and choose to have a drink when they get home from work? Why is the argument on alcohol or alcoholism a controversy in this country we call America? In the essay "Under the Influence: Paying the Price of My Father's Booze" by Scott Russel Sanders, he explains his reasoning behind not following his father's footsteps and the effects that alcohol had on him and his family. I believe that it can be excepted if you can manage the amount of alcohol you consume and tolerance level. Alcohol is promote everywhere in the world and is easily influenced. When you abuse alcohol that is when it begins to reflect on family members and love ones.

Often alcoholic abusers have a blind spot when it comes to the ravaging effect it can also have on love ones. Sanders assert, "My father, when drunk, was neither funny nor honest; he was pathetic, frightening and deceitful" (pg211). Being able to control how much alcohol you can tolerate could change how much you are able to drink. Consider drinking in two categories: drinking with a purpose and drinking without one. Some people tend to latch on alcohol, illegal drugs, even over the counter drugs if their having difficult problems, stress, death and things that tend to trigger an abuse of abuse of alcohol. This would be considered drinking without a purpose. There may be a wedding, social event and different types of engagements that could have social drinking; that would be considered as drinking with a purpose.

When drinking begins to play a major role in your life, family members and loved oned are somewhat forced to ignore their own need, in order to facilitate the functioning if the household. "The more the drank, the more obsessed Mother became with stopping him. She hunted for bottles, counted the cash in his wallet, sniffed at his breath" (pg212). As the alcohol's drinking increases and adopts a primary place in his/her world, it assumes membership in everyone's life. How can we as adults set an example for young adults, teens, even children. People who ism history of alcoholism or associate closely with heavy drinkers are more likely to develop drinking problems. Drinking problems are due to many interconnected factors, including genetics, how you were raised, your social environment and your emotional health. The effect of such factors as mental conflicts and the severity of parental drinking on the development of problems should be considered. Sanders assert, "My brother became a rebel, my sister retreated into shyness, I played the stalwart and dutiful son would the family together" (pg218).

Alcohol can affect your family, friends, and your life if you can't manage how much you drink. By categorizing alcohol into two, drinking with a purpose and drinking without one, you can