It's that time of year again. The time of year when tens of thousands of Year 12 students finish the humdrum world of classes, and slide sloshily into the murkier world of stu-vac before the HSC.
It was not a sloshy slide for me. I walked with my head held high (and dry) through many an 18th Birthday party, through the end-of school celebrations and into uni keen to learn. This is not the experience of most young school leavers. Most will drink their way through ridiculous amounts of money and self-respect between now and uni, and often continuing into the uni years.
I drink. Sure. About one drink a month. But many of these kids will come home from Schoolies with damaged livers. And I think to myself: WHY??
Surely there is more to having fun at a party or at uni, or just to celebrate than to pour huge amounts of (essentially) poison down one's throat. Surely having fun does not include throwing up in the bushes, and spending the next day making people whisper and tip toe past your door.
The drinking culture in Australia is much discussed on morning tv, evening tv and in churches. It is also much subtly defended on morning tv, and evening tv. The presenters will sit there and bemoan the binge drinking that occurs on a mass scale every weekend, conveniently forgetting their own heavy drinking days. In the evening the presenters often laugh shamefacedly as they try to speak against the drinking culture, and try and laugh off their own drunken exploits.
Until recently in Europe alcohol was the only safe liquid to drink when most waterways were full of material and human waste. The current guidelines for pregnant women not to drink any alcohol (apart from being largely ignored) would have spelled a quick death from dehydration in centuries passed.
Now we know better. We know the effects on the body of prolonged moderate use of alcohol. We know about the effects on the developing baby. We know about the effect on families and the raised levels of violence. And yet as a society we continue to drink to excess regularly.
How can we change this culture?? The current advertisements suggesting you "delay their first drink" will be largely useless given that for the target audience, the "parents", often they spent their youth sozzled and happy about it. For too many generations, getting drunk has become a positive statement about adulthood, about manhood, about fun.
Again I ask: How do we as Christians change the culture?
Well we know that prohibition doesn't work. The USA tried that. EPIC FAIL. The reasons for the Prohibition Act were great reasons. But the culture was too entrenched even then. Now?
Biblically we know that Jesus was not averse to a tipple himself. He turned water into wine at a wedding for crying out loud. But at the same time, the Apostle Paul exhorts women 'not to be addicted to much wine'. So moderation is the order of the day. But do we know what moderation is anymore? Do we really know what moderation is? In a culture where people who drink to excess think they drink moderately...a culture change is definitely necessary. But still difficult.
Some Christians think we shouldn't drink at all. I am tempted to agree, but I know I don't really. That attitude may well be the product of too many years of indoctrination into the idea that alcohol "isn't really that bad", that everything in moderation is ok. Maybe we shouldn't drink. Maybe it would really take being completely different from the prevailing culture to make a difference.
I don't know. What do you think?
Mmm...well, so much to say.
ReplyDeleteLike you I managed to navigate high school, schoolies and the start of uni "dry." Since then I've learnt to enjoy a drink and really appreciate wine...something I picked up from my Dad I guess. (BTW "enjoy" and "appreciate" are not euphemisms for drinking excessively - I mean I have a pseudo cellar and appreciate good wine).
I have been drunk once, ironically after a church event where the meals were stuffed up and I volunteered to not eat (the organisers chose a seafood place but didn't tell anyone because they didn't want to put people off. Problem being, of course, that there were a number of us who were allergic to seafood who found ourselves in a pickle (not to mention facing the wrath of the chef!) In the end the kitchen agreed to make some extra meals but the organisers counted wrongly and only 5 were provided when 6 were needed).
I was on my feet all night helping with various things (you could say there were a couple of other "issues" to attend to) and at the end of the night sat down and had 1 or 2 small drinks without thinking, after eating nothing. When I stood up - well, let's just say it was good that we were the last to leave.
So anyway...my point. I know people who don't drink because they have friends/family with serious alcohol issues- good choice. In my personal situation I think probably drinking in moderation is a better example than not drinking at all. (HH and I possibly have a larger than normal number of non-Christian friends who we socialise with).
As for pregnancy, my very good pediatrician friend said it was fine for me to have some drinks when pg with #1. My OB is also fine with the occassional drink and so through both pregnancies I have had a handful or so drinks - not in the first trimester, but certainly as the pg has progressed I am not concerned about a small drink. This pg though I have been much more relaxed about food in general - look at the French! In fact, look at a lot of European cities where drinking is a huge part of the culture and yet the binge drinking element doesn't appear present. It does beg the question...
I am rambling now, having made no real point except to reflect on some of my own experiences and choices...I've got to say that having made the choices that I have made in my life I am not sure I feel all that equipped to speak to "today's youth" about it...but then perhaps I am buying into the idea that you have to have lived something to be able to speak to it...whether that is a valid view or not?
I think the key to the problem lies in societal pressures towards drinking. These are two-fold. Many parents/authority figures make the situation worse by demonising drinking - especially underage drinking, which is something that the majority of teenagers seem to participate in. When this happens, teenagers feel pressured to drink for the sake of rebellion. I think the best attitude as a parent in this situation would be to discourage excessive drinking without condemning entirely, and understanding that everybody makes bad choices sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThe second prong comes from a student's peers, who may encourage them to drink excessively for a variety of reasons, either intentionally or unintentionally (the unintentional peer pressure being the case where a person feels like they have to do something to seem cool, even if nobody is telling them that this is the case). This is a much more insidious problem and not a simple one to try and counter-act. I think the best thing an authority figure can do in this kind of situation is give young people confidence in their own choices, even if it means going against the grain. Teaching people to be good little lemmings has a whole lot of associated problems with it, and this might very well be one of them.
The job of changing an entire societies views on drinking is much too big for one person. The best thing you can do is foster those views which you think are positive in your own life and gently encourage them in those around you, while still respecting their right to make choices you might not agree with. If enough people are thinking the same way, an overall change in social perceptions will take place over time, and your support of what you think are responsible choices will be part of that.
If this change never comes about, that's okay too - you do what's right by yourself and try and help those close to you make responsible choices, and accept that your views are only held by a minority group. Societal perceptions are an organic, amorphous thing and any actions aimed at controlling or containing these shifting ideas in a broad way are doomed to failure.