A good thing or a bad thing....?
Updated: Apr 21, 2022
As a doctor - I have seen alcohol cause deep, dark and significant, occasionally life-ending problems - yet I have also seen the way in which it can help people within all walks of our society make contact and ‘get along’ in social situations that would otherwise be unachievable.
Alcohol has been about for many hundreds of years and is most definitely here to stay - and if treated carefully and with the respect that it deserves, it can be a fantastic addition to our societal way of life.
At ‘The Herbal Gin Company’, we advise and expect our clients to drink with care and sensibly. Alcohol is great social catalyst for good but it is also a potent drug and a catalyst that can spark events that are less than good. All too often we take a righteous stance with societal acceptance of alcohol but its shunning of drugs....
Consider this…
If somebody went to a doctor and was given a medication - but was told, whilst clutching the prescription and before leaving the surgery, that the medication, if not taken in moderation could likely result in:
falling over
speech to be slurred
possibly cause vomiting
making some poor life decisions that might not be remembered the next morning
behaviour that could result in problems with the police
social stress with family and friends
rendering the person unable to drive within half an hour of taking it
being unfit to go to work the next day
….I wonder what most people would say about taking that prescription to the pharmacy….?
To balance the discussion though I would like to introduce you to my preferred approach to alcohol, and in doing so displaying the attitude of awareness that I feel, as a medical person, is needed to hold a balanced opinion.
It is called the famous "Whiskey Speech," delivered in April 1952 by a young Mississippi legislator (somewhat unfortunately) named Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr. (In his later years, he became the boss of a young author called John Grisham.)
Mr Sweat said it all with an eloquence and balance that I have not otherwise seen and in a manner both concise and thoughtful…...
"...My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey.
If when you say "whiskey" you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation and despair and shame and helplessness and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.
But if when you say "whiskey" you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm, to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.
This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise..."
Well said Mr Sweat.
The Herbal Gin Company asks you to drink responsibly. It asks you to enjoy yourselves but be safe. Remember that even under the influence of alcohol you are still responsible for your actions.
Our Mascot Max also asks you also to drink responsibly please...