Originally Posted by Huggles

Alcohol has played a part in religion and spiritualism for thousands of years, probably the earliest shaman were wild men in rags rolling around on cave floors raising their IQ by having booze scramble their primitive minds.

When you think about it, alcohol's purpose is to change your perception of things, which, of course, can be good or bad. If you're an engineer, painter, scientist, artist, or whatever, and you'rte stuck on a particular issue, alcohol can be a tool to give you a different headspace and a more pragmatic look on an issue.

My brother is a teetotaler and wanted to be a police officer so bad. He hates anyone who smokes weed or drinks in a weird way. Just hates people who enjoy getting intoxicated. I tried to explain to him many times that alcohol and drugs can be tools and medication, but, of course, you have to make sure you don't lose yourself to addiction and become a total zombie. He sees things in absolutes, so if you drink a drop of alcohol, you're just as bad as a fentanyl zombie lying in the gutter after breaking into a car for a point of fent. He can't see any difference between the two. If you use any substance to change your perspective, you're a waste of a human life.

Alcohol has its moments, it can enhance things, make moments extra special, and can give you the mood necessary to really, really enjoy live performances and music and theatre and such. It is the lubricant of social lives for some, but also it opens the gates of focus for others. Ever notice if you have a beer or two at a hockey game, for example, it really helps you shut off your mind and instead of thinking about all the other shit in life, the fact that you're watching millionaires play a child's game, instead, you can watch the athletes give it their best and appreciate the physical competition, the roar of the crowd, the excitement of everyone around you? Personally, without alcohol, sports are so fucking boring for me to watch. I'd rather watch someone intricately carve a piece of wood or a ballet performance than watch a bunch of millionaires slap around a puck surrounded by 9-5 workers consuming the lowest common denominator bread and circuses... but after a few drinks I can lose myself in that moment of elite level sports and just enjoy the show.