I Don't Drink Because I'm Catholic? Not Really

(Red Solo Cup -- Source: My iPhone)

College students might be alcohol addicts.

Disclaimer: the previous statement was an incredibly broad generalization that couldn't possibly define the complexity of the situation at hand, but I'm just trying to start a conversation.

When I say "college students," I don't mean to further generalize an already prominently generalized group of people. You probably think I'm referring to the members of the Greek System, since that seems to be the stereotype these days. I'm not. When I say "college students," I'm talking about the commoner: the brilliant chemical engineering major down the hall who draws atomic models in her free-time; the quirky philosophy major a floor down who seems to alter your conception of reality every time you talk to her; the beautiful dance major you met at orientation who can make it look like his limbs extend gracefully into forever. At least, those are the "commoners" at my school.

These people, my classmates, are some of the most ridiculously talented people I have ever met--and I mean ridiculously talented. And it seems they almost always have something in common: drinking. Most of them have been doing it for a while, some even starting as early as middle school. Alcohol is nonchalant with them. It's almost as if... at the end of a grueling four-day work-week spent at the library demanding their brains' highest function, or at the studio pushing their bodies to the absolute physical limit, they welcome alcohol as an old friend. An old friend that allows them to forget, unwind, relax, socialize, and hopefully, orgasm.

It seems that after a week of forcing an amazingly high mental or physical performance, these kids have to "unwind," and they do so by satisfying their innermost carnal desires -- those that take too much brainpower to control otherwise. That is not to be condescending. I certainly know as well as you do how difficult it is to suppress something like the sexual drive of an 18-year-old. It is simply fact; I have friends at top-tier institutions of higher education all over the country -- University of Chicago, Harvard, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt -- and they know this to be true, as well.

But now to religion -- Catholicism, to be specific. I don't drink because I'm Catholic? No and Yes. No, being it's not for the reason you think; as far as I know, there isn't a specific Church teaching about alcohol consumption. (I even consulted my "Youcat," a youth Catechism I received as a gift from a friend.) Yes, being I don't drink because I believe in self-control. I have found that being a Catholic -- progressive "cafeteria," conservative traditional, or otherwise -- revolves around the practice of self-control. It's quite simple.

I don't drink because I don't support the culture -- the generally accepted, even widely anticipated idea that a hazy, alcohol-induced, sexually active Friday night can solve all your problems. Doesn't it say something? That kids not even a quarter way through their lives are working themselves to the painful point where they can't even bear to remember? That kids have lost all coping mechanisms besides forgetting, so they automatically, naturally turn to the bottle and the body to just make it better? The thing is, I wouldn't even mind a drink now and then, but it's "black out or get out" for the most part. (That was literally the name of a party here.) But I don't drink to forget. No one should ever do that.

Sometimes when this topic arises, I get the following response: "Well that's just how its been for years! Everybody grows out of it eventually. One day you'll wake up hung-over as hell and think to yourself, 'Why was this ever fun?' One day you'll want to settle down -- the thrill of the chase will vanish. One day you'll feel alone in a crowd full of drunks, and it'll finally hit you how absurd it all is." But my question is, what if some of these kids don't live long enough to see that day?

I've seen it happen. I've seen the bright flame of life extinguished far before the wax was all melted, far before the wick was burnt to oblivion. So think about it. I don't care who you are -- we get too caught up on that nowadays. Black, blue, white, brown, yellow; male, merm, herm, ferm, female; Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, Atheist; all these categories that have become divisions, and everything else in between: think about it. We've got a problem. It may not be the most pressing issue right now, and I get that. But can we please all just acknowledge it so we can start to fix it?