Rethinking The Ritual: Trump’s Choice Not To Drink And Why America’s Drinking Culture Needs A Second Look
Alcohol is everywhere: at dinner with friends, after a long day at work, or in a toast to success. Despite mounting evidence that it’s harmful to our health, it remains a cornerstone of Western culture. But with Dry January coming to an end and our teetotaler 47th president recently inaugurated, one cannot help but question the normalization of alcohol in our society.
Recent research has made one thing abundantly clear: alcohol is bad for you, period. It affects nearly every system of your body, from your liver to your brain, from your hormones to your gut. Yet drinking remains deeply ingrained in our lives. Champagne to celebrate, wine to unwind, cocktails with friends... Drinking is often viewed as a social obligation, a marker of sophistication, or even an act of politeness.