The Original Destroyer of Families

Alcoholic mom and son

Before the current heroin epidemic, before crack cocaine was created, even before the war on drugs started, one substance was destroying families and individuals from the inside out.

Who of you guessed alcohol? Prohibition in the 1920’s was one of the first federal bans on a substance and not without reason. Alcohol has been destroying families and crippling lives for thousands of years.

Six Sermons on Intemperance: Lyman Beecher,
Boston: T. R. Marvin, 1828:

"That accursed resort of social drinking; my hands were bound and my feet put in fetters; there I went a freeman and became a slave, a temperate man and became a drunkard."
“Why, sir, for my part I say the gentleman had drunk himself out of his five senses”
“I would not put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains.”
“O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!"
“I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking. I could well wish courtesy would invent some other custom of entertainment.”
“O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil.”

And from William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania:

“All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and mad. In fine, he that is drunk is not a man: because he is so long void of Reason, that distinguishes a Man from a Beast.”

And George Washington:

“Refrain from drink which is the source of all evil—and the ruin of half the workmen in this Country.”

And Abraham Lincoln:

“The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity. What one of us but can call to mind some relative more promising in youth than all his fellows, who has fallen a sacrifice to his rapacity?”

Alcohol has been argued to be the real gateway drug over marijuana. This comes largely from the fact alcohol is so widely socially acceptable. Many times parents and other family members are the first to get a loved one drunk not to mention families and friends bond over alcohol use (Christmas nogs with Brandy or Rum or New Years Eve champagne toasts), alcoholic drinks have become associated with locations (Hurricane in New Orleans, Mint Julep at the Kentucky Derby or Manhattans in… Manhattan) and thousands of recipes are devoted to alcohol.

In addition to this, drunk driving killed 9,967 people in 2014 and accounted for 31% of driving related fatalities. Anyone with a loved one who is an alcoholic knows how hard it can be to deal with them or lead them to treatment. A large part of this is the social acceptability of alcohol, giving an addict even more excuses on not seeking treatment.

There has also been a term coined about someone who has not quite lost everything through drinking; “a functioning alcoholic.” A term that, to be honest, does nothing but harm. The reality is anyone struggling with alcohol abuse has some part of their life being damaged if not destroyed by their abuse.

Though it may seem hopeless when trying to get a loved one to clean up and start a life of sobriety, it is possible. The Narconon program is directly targeted at the problems addicts run into in life, handling the excuses they make and helping them to take responsibility for what they have done. Please call us today to learn more and put an end to your loved one’s addition.

AUTHOR

Aaron

Aaron has been writing drug education articles and documenting the success of the Narconon program for over two years.

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