# Why is drinking such a valued asset? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 5, 2006, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454 "2006-06-05T05:32:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MGorgon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@MGorgon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MGorgon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/1 "2006-06-05T05:32:48Z")
I’m only 17, so I might not have a full grasp of life’s experiences. But why is it that it’s considered a valuable asset to enjoy consuming alcohol? My friends go to parties and get smashed, get no meaningful sleep because you black out when drunk, vomit like crazy the next day, and say they enjoy it? I’m of the mind that if it reduces your judgement, makes vomitting a normal habit, and is literally poisoning your body, why do it? It’s like smoking, you’re paying to reduce your lifespan. Alot of the people that talk about drinking say pretty much the same things: “Yeah, I got so wasted last night, I was in the hospital getting my stomach pumped”, “I don’t remember anything from last night” Upon further questioning as to why someone would drink to the point of forgetting the entire night, which to me, seems to defeat the purpose, they said “Yeah, but I’m assuming I had a blast”. Am I the only one out there that refuses to drink and partake in drugs of any kind, aside from ibuprofen and zantac? Am I the only one who hates how parties must require drinking? I wouldn’t mind going out with my friends, I’d love to, really. But lately it’s just involed either drinking or doing something stupid, like getting stoned and watching terminator or something. Any other proud to be sober for life people out there? ---
**Author:** ![MGorgon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@MGorgon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MGorgon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/2 "2006-06-05T05:34:53Z")
> [@MGorgon](#): > > It’s like smoking, you’re paying to reduce your lifespan. I shouldn’t have worded it like that, of course alcohol doesn’t reduce lifespan in limited quantities at my age. But it reduces quality of health, but teens are invincible, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/3 "2006-06-05T05:44:48Z")
> [@MGorgon](#): > > I’m only 17, so I might not have a full grasp of life’s experiences. But why is it that it’s considered a valuable asset to enjoy consuming alcohol? My friends go to parties and get smashed, get no meaningful sleep because you black out when drunk, vomit like crazy the next day, and say they enjoy it? At 17, that’s called “youth”. At, say, 24 that’s called being an alcoholic or simply a drunk. After a certain age, if you show enthusiasm for drinking, smoking or whatever, people will look at you funny. Lots of people don’t drink or smoke. Myself, I enjoy 1-3 beers now and then, usually 1. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/4 "2006-06-05T06:14:33Z")
It’s not a lot of fun to be the only sober guy around a bunch of drunks. Stuff they think is funny will just seem stupid to you. I like to drink, myself, but there’s nothing wrong with deciding not to. Better to find some friends who don’t drink either, though. Otherwise you’re likely to be pretty frustrated with the ones who do. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/5 "2006-06-05T06:22:05Z")
You forgot to mention that alcohol smells foul and doesn’t really taste very good. Not to mention the whole ritual of achieving the “perfect” alcoholic beverage. Milk is good, it’s always good. Yeah, I could go out looking for the best cow in the world, figure out the perfect temperature at which the milk could be served, and whether it is better for light or dark meat…but in the end, it’s a drink. It always tastes good, and there isn’t any sort of lost splendour that I can maybe one day rediscover by getting that perfect cup. That splendour was novelty. Just to continue the rant some. However, this is really much more of a poll by your wording (and otherwise not a fight worth having–unless you are particularly fond of trench warfare.) I will say though that it does seem to have been fairly empirically proven that minor imbibing regularly does increase your life span (though given the number of alcohol-related deaths to teens, in the end we lose more years of potential life as a society than gain due to alcohol.) So for true health, you should drink a little periodically. Personally I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/6 "2006-06-05T06:27:25Z")
> [@MGorgon](#): > > My friends go to parties and get smashed, get no meaningful sleep because you black out when drunk, vomit like crazy the next day, and say they enjoy it? That’s not being able to enjoy a drink, that’s just being an idiot. I think people act like that when they’re trying to overcompensate for not enjoying the sober part of their lives. And yeah, I’m sure the youth/invincible thing comes into play. There’s also a certain ‘I can’t believe I did that!’ thing happening, but I don’t know why you want to impress yourself by being that stupid. If you’re able to enjoy drinking alcohol, I’d say that’s a separate thing. Behavior like the above is more like enjoying getting really drunk. > [@John Mace](#): > > It’s not a lot of fun to be the only sober guy around a bunch of drunks. I can’t agree enough with this statement. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/7 "2006-06-05T06:35:08Z")
> [@MGorgon](#): > > Am I the only one out there that refuses to drink and partake in drugs of any kind, aside from ibuprofen and zantac? Nope, and I’m 38. I never saw the point. As far as _why_ so many people, especially young people consider it important, I think it’s because it’s forbidden to the young. It’s become a rite of adulthood to drink to excess. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/8 "2006-06-05T06:42:47Z")
It’s not a very valued asset. Do whatever enables you to have fun and don’t be judgmental. Sometimes it’s hard, but just don’t be a dick. Find new friends? Don’t put yourself in such situations? As a non-drinker, I prefer going to parties late and leaving early. People are social and not sloppy yet. Sloppy drunks can be a pain to be around. ---
**Author:** ![Jotun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@Jotun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jotun)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/9 "2006-06-05T06:57:05Z")
> [@MGorgon](#): > > Am I the only one who hates how parties must require drinking? I wouldn’t mind going out with my friends, I’d love to, really. But lately it’s just involed either drinking or doing something stupid, like getting stoned and watching terminator or something. I thought the same thing at your age (I’m 25). I drink now, and I sometimes go to bars. I have my own drink of choice for when I don’t feel like drinking. Club Soda, or Coca-Cola, and plenty of ice. 🙂 It usually helps to have another person around who isn’t a drinker, or isn’t getting stoned. If you’re really close to these friends, you’ll be happy to know that the fascination with getting pied gets old after a while, and a lot of times people cut back substantially. In the mean time you can just be you, and be the hero to many a woman by holding her hair back while she ralphs into a ditch. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/10 "2006-06-05T07:17:41Z")
It used to be a point of pride to be able to drink a lot _without_ getting drunk. Modern kids seem to have overlooked that aspect of it. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/11 "2006-06-05T08:35:24Z")
I think the over-compensation of youth drinking comes from our society’s puritanical attitude towards it. If it weren’t such a naughty, exotic, forbidden thing, there wouldn’t be this obsession with it. That’s my take anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/12 "2006-06-05T10:29:43Z")
I am convinced that alcohol affects alcoholics differently than people who can take it or leave it. For some people, alcohol makes them feel really, REALLY good for a while. That why we alcoholics put up with all the drawbacks; it is an addiction like anything else. People who don’t get this reaction cannot relate, and say “what’s the point?” Consider your self lucky. I have been sober for almost nine years, and I still think about what that first beer of the day feels like. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/13 "2006-06-05T10:33:12Z")
I don’t drink. I’m on paxil and ritalin to treat OCD and ADHD. AND I have a long family history of alcoholism on both sides. I don’t want to tempt fate. That and I’ve only been tipsy, let alone drunk, once in my life. I felt flushed, overheated, and woozy. Yay. How fun! I suggest you seek new friends. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/14 "2006-06-05T10:58:08Z")
You sound like a very smart person. Go to any rehab center and see why the pople are there. They found the fun they were having turned into their worst nightmare. Getting smashed then being sick aterwards is a foolish and immature thing to do. Drinking and getting smashed has gone on even years ago by some,and I was able to see the tradgey that was caused by the one’s of my age that drank to access. They became alcholic’s and several died young. Monavis ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/15 "2006-06-05T11:00:54Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > You sound like a very smart person. > Go to any rehab center and see why the pople are there. They found the fun they were having turned into their worst nightmare. Getting smashed then being sick aterwards is a foolish and immature thing to do. > > Drinking and getting smashed has gone on even years ago by some,and I was able to see the tradgey that was caused by the one’s of my age that drank to access. They became alcholic’s and several died young. > > Monavis Forgive the typos! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/16 "2006-06-05T11:06:26Z")
I’m with **Argent Towers**. I honestly think the American attitude towards alcohol, i.e. not one single drop until your over 21 promotes drinking to excess because there’s no reason to learn to drink responsibly, nor is there any clear way to learn how to do so. I get the impression it’s even illegal for people under 21 to have a glass of wine with dinner in their own parents’ home with their parents’ approval. I’m over 40. I don’t drink much because I don’t like the taste of most types of alcohol. Like **Fear Itself** , I remember my first beer, but my response was somewhat different. It was Kirin beer; I was 20 and studying in Japan. My response was, “Let me guess. This is an acquired taste; acquired as you get drunker.” On the other hand, I tried a bit of single-malt scotch over Memorial Day weekend, and it was nice stuff indeed. I wouldn’t say I’m “proud to be sober for life”. To me, that’s just as much of an extreme as going out and getting drunk regularly. I know several people who seldom if ever drink, but they don’t see it as something to be proud of, but more as a personal preference like eating or not eating mushrooms. **MGorgon** , I suggest you look for a broader approach to this issue than what you’ve seen around you so far. Just as there’s more to religion that Fundamentalism or Atheism, so there are far more attitudes towards alcohol and drinking that what you’ve seen so far. This board is a pretty good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/17 "2006-06-05T11:16:13Z")
The whole point of drinking is that it feels good. Alcohol is a depressant, it can help lessen tension and stress. It makes people loosen up and not feel so anxious in social situations. It loosens inhibitions. Some people feel funnier, smarter, more witty after a couple of drinks. Those first couple of drinks feel good. Real good. The problem, for some people, is knowing when to stop. Not everyone drinks until they’re wasted and drinking to the point of blacking out is considered very dangerous and one of the warning signs of alcoholism. Many people have one or two, get that warm glow, that good feeling and then they stop. But some people don’t. For some people if 1 is good 10 must be better right. People drink because it makes them feel good for a while and for a lot of people, that’s the only good feeling they’ll have all day. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/18 "2006-06-05T11:24:38Z")
> [@velvetjones](#): > > The problem, for some people, is knowing when to stop. Rehab is for quitters afterall. ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/19 "2006-06-05T11:30:52Z")
God so many of these responses seem so condescending. But honestly, after going through late high school, college in New orleans and graduate school, I promise it’s not always like that. You drink at parties but you drink a few and youre buzzed and it makes everyone a little more social. and its fun. but if its not fun to you. dont do it. And this is someone who has been face down on a bathroom floor more times than I can count. Not to mention many times waking up in parts of louisiana I still can’t locate exactly. It changes. and I hope I said that in the least “you’ll understand when you’re older” way. Because thats just obnoxious ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454/20 "2006-06-05T12:36:34Z")
Alcohol is a social lubricant. Not so sure I see that as an asset. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-drinking-such-a-valued-asset/359454.md?page=2)