“Lunch without alcohol”

(Baonghean) - Due to work requirements, I have many opportunities to go to the base, often invited to intimate meals with very sincere feelings. But every time I sit down to eat, whether at noon or in the evening, a glass of wine is always the opening, like "a piece of betel is the beginning of a conversation". Many times, after finishing a meal, my mind is still dizzy and not clear. Many times like that, I always feel afraid of having to drink alcohol when attending a meal, so I often find ways to refuse. But unfortunately, if I refuse many times, I am afraid that the base staff will feel hurt and think that I do not respect them.

Recently, I had a chance to go on a business trip to Anh Son district, and when I returned to the base, I was invited to lunch. The assigned work had not been completed yet, so when I accepted the invitation, I honestly felt uneasy. I was sure that having lunch would require drinking alcohol, and then the scene of toasting each other "going and returning" would be miserable. But when I sat down to the meal, I was surprised to see no bottle of alcohol. The presiding officer sympathized: "After implementing the 4th Central Resolution, our Anh Son district has a regulation: cadres and civil servants are not allowed to drink alcohol at noon to ensure alertness during the afternoon working hours. Therefore, I hope you will sympathize and enjoy a simple lunch with some homegrown specialties."

After listening, I breathed a sigh of relief. A lunch without alcohol, without the "cheers..." in unison with glasses of "dong khoi" wine, but the host and guests were still affectionate and happy. After the meal, we said goodbye to each other to prepare for the afternoon's work. On the way to another commune, revolving around the "lunch without alcohol" story, my colleague asked a district official who was with me: "The regulations are like that, but the officials still go into a closed, air-conditioned room to eat and drink, who would know?" The district official frankly said: "We can get around the agency's regulations, but we cannot get past the people's eyes. The district's regulations are widely disseminated among the people, if we go against them, the people will lose trust. Moreover, if we don't drink alcohol at noon, our minds will be clear in the afternoon and we will work more effectively."

An official of a mountainous district once confided to us: “Thanks to the regulation of no alcohol at lunch, we are much healthier. Before, there were days when we received 3 to 4 groups of guests, each group had to drink wine toast each other enthusiastically. Many times after receiving guests, we would lie down exhausted, unable to work in the afternoon, and sometimes had to go for IV drips.”

I think that for cadres, civil servants and public employees, the regulation of not drinking alcohol at noon and before work hours should be encouraged and widely applied. Only then can work efficiency be improved and the people be better served. To do this, in addition to the specific regulations of each agency, each cadre, civil servant and public employee needs to be exemplary in practicing a lifestyle of not drinking alcohol. We must stop the way of thinking: "If we love each other, we must invite each other to a full glass of wine."

PHUOC ANH