Why do we have to drink?

(Baonghean.vn)- Sometimes I really want to meet you, because you are a very interesting person. But I am afraid of you, because every time I meet you, I have to drink alcohol. Why does it have to be alcohol to be a meeting?

Sitting and sipping coffee with a close friend who has just returned from abroad, chatting happily, comfortably, sincerely, openly, both sides exchange and learn a lot of information. The special thing is, every time we meet, you refuse all drinking, only choose or accept to sit and drink coffee. Gradually, I suddenly realize that I am very interested and comfortable when meeting you. Both gentle and intimate, it seems like I can meet you at any time without worrying about anything, including the "cost"...

In Vietnam, drinking is also considered a type of stress? Photo: Internet

Perhaps, I have such a pleasant feeling because I have compared and related the times I met you at coffee shops with countless times I met my brothers, friends, and younger brothers in life, at work at restaurants, eateries, and drinking parties at home... That is, there are many people who, whenever they meet, must take place at restaurants, at eateries, even if they organize a meeting at home, there must be a glass of beer, a glass of wine, of course there is always a "driver" - the "pilot" of beer and wine.

Is it true that for a long time, many people have secretly believed that only by having a glass of beer and wine, by having a drink with friends, can it be considered a real meeting? Or even, only by going to a fancy restaurant can one truly respect the person being invited? Only by ordering expensive dishes and many dishes can a party be considered classy? Even at home, only by preparing a feast with many dishes, and eating in abundance, can it be considered “good”?

Knowing that drinking a lot of alcohol and beer is both tiring and expensive. It affects your health and wastes your money. When drinking, there is also the phenomenon of "forcing alcohol". Although everyone knows the saying "you cannot force alcohol", but the saying "you cannot refuse" is born. It is extremely miserable for those who have a low alcohol tolerance, or have an illness that requires abstaining from alcohol. They have to receive all kinds of provocation, ridicule, and criticism. In some places, leaders and heads drink a lot of alcohol, or are addicted to alcohol, so it is only miserable for their subordinates who have poor "capacity" for alcohol. Many times, the ability to drink alcohol and endure alcohol, alas, is also considered a form of... capacity (!)

Not to mention, after drinking, you still have to drive home. Many times, the next morning when you sober up, you can't remember how you got home, even though you know you drove home. At first, you were proud of yourself, praising yourself for being very... talented. But when you witness more and more traffic accidents caused by alcohol, many people wake up the next morning, thinking back to the way home last night and are so scared that they break out in a cold sweat.

The scene of a young man stabbing his drinking buddy to death in Binh Thuan. Photo from the Internet.

Drinking is often accompanied by eating. Eating is also an expense. Sometimes, the mouth does not need much to eat, but we have to feed... the eyes. That means we have to order a lot, prepare a lot, mainly to... look good. Because in reality, many drinking parties have guests who only eat very little, and when they get up to leave, the dishes are sometimes still untouched. That is the phenomenon of "full stomach, hungry eyes".

Nowadays, in small restaurants, it is very difficult for each drinking meal to be under 500,000 VND, and in restaurants, even if you are frugal, it cannot be under 1,000,000 VND. Therefore, for drinking parties with "Le Quyen", "Cambodia", "Gopbachop" (donating, sharing money, contributing money to pay) it is still simple and comfortable. But if one person has to "bear" it, it is quite heavy. If you are a civil servant, employee, with a medium or low income, then every time you pay, even if you try to smile, when you look in the mirror, your face will be distorted!

Furthermore, if health is considered a precious capital, the most important asset, then there is nothing that destroys this asset more than drinking parties. Beer and alcohol destroy the nervous system, affect memory, then the heart, blood fat, liver enzymes, "six organs and five viscera" are all affected. There are many people who suffer from psychosis. Alcohol enters the mouth, words come out. Alcohol enters the body and turns into a child. Then there is loss of love, loss of friendship, loss of position, loss of job, some people even lose their lives. The same goes for drinking, gout, diabetes... are all in the near future of both professional and amateur drinkers.

The strange thing is that even though we have realized the countless harmful effects of drinking, we still have the mentality that it is difficult to avoid or refuse to organize or participate in drinking parties. I myself have thought, if only I could meet Mr. A, Mr. B without drinking, how wonderful that would be. Or, if only Chief A, Leader B, did not drink, was not addicted to alcohol, how wonderful that would be...

There are many extremely interesting friends, including a brother I always want to see, but I just wish I could see him and not at a drinking party. The irony is, every time I see him, he drags me to a restaurant, a bar, or at least to drink... at home. So, sometimes a very contradictory thing happens: deep down I really want to see him, but I am extremely shy... about having to see him.

That’s why, after my friend came back from far away, we only met for coffee. I kept wishing that all my friends were like that, how happy I would be. Thinking about that, I was afraid of those meetings, afraid of myself. Why wasn’t I brave enough to just drink coffee?

Chi Linh Mountain