Leo Tolstoy on why people drink (2014)
Let's consider this quote<p>"All human life, we may say, consists solely of these two activities: (1) bringing one’s activities into harmony with conscience, or (2) hiding from oneself the indications of conscience in order to be able to continue to live as before."<p>Note that he has defined all of life as two points about "one" and "oneself". This is why I and I assume many others roll their eyes.<p>Because Tolstoy, and most essays about alcohol, don't even mention what I think is the point of alcohol. It's a drug that makes it easier to socialize, and socializing is very, very good for people. So good that I will risk it, even though alcohol is bad in many ways: bad for physical and mental health, risky for abuse, etc.<p>If you are anti alcohol, that is reasonable, but it seems no one will ever admit what it's really for.<p>This is important, because alcohol is unhealthy and if you want to discourage it, give people other low effort ways to connect.