An Epidemic?

SAT., DEC. 5, 1998, 6:10 AM
FARM, STUDY

The focus of Ralph’s prospectus meeting yesterday was young people in this country abusing alcohol, as well as other drug substances. One of the quotes in his paper on which you meant to have him comment was that this use and abuse was “an epidemic”. This is no longer one of your active areas of interest, but you were in the alcohol studies field for many years, and from this you have residual impressions. I, too, have some observations, so, on a dark, cool morning, hear Me… Spirit called Holy.

Yours is a rich country, comparatively, even as the largesse is not equally distributed, by any means. One basic reason for this is that competition is a rather high value, and there is quite a range in ability to compete, among children and youth. Yet in a competitive culture, if you can’t succeed in some aspects of life, find something in which you can be better than others.

Again… in your culture the generally accepted practice is that adults may opt to drink alcoholic beverages but children may not. Hence alcohol is an illicit substance until age 21, even as it is advertised rather extensively… as a part of the fun of life. (I’ll talk mainly about alcohol this morning, but you realize the some of what I say can apply to other “recreational drugs”, although alcohol is rather distinctive, both in its use and its misuse.)

There are many reasons why young people begin to drink, even to binge, while these beverages are still, for them, illicit. I’ll focus on two of them, ones relating most to spirit, My major interest. One is the spirit of competition and of imitations. When children and youth, particularly… see adults having fun drinking and acting in ways not normal for them, they want to have comparable experiences. Some of the “braver” youth try drinking, and some others follow along. Here’s where a spirit, developing well, can be a positive factor.

As I have told you in other Teachings alcohol reduces physical and intellectual functioning, and thus behavior is more and more determined by the spiritual and emotional dimensions of the person. If spirit is developing well there is increased concern for the well-being of others, as well as self. If spirit has not developed well there can be disdain for others, in the competition of life, and even violence against certain others… or the culture, in general.

If spirit is strong, drunken behavior is mostly in fun, the fun of diminished inhibitions. But when spirit is less developed there can be anger, greed, envy, and desire to hurt others that are “unleashed”. When competition is part of a culture and valued, a few succeed excessively, and some adequately, but also there are those who “lose out”… actually or in their own perceptions of what they should be. Feelings of failure… or even just lack of expected success… can be uncomfortable… to destructive.

Some, then, drink excessively and destructively to reduce these discomforting feelings, others drink similarly to be competitive… to drink more than others, even to become drunker than others. And… there can be combinations of these motivations.

One other element that I must note for you. The spirit within the soul of each human is in some stage of development, whatever the culture and whatever the appearance and behavior of the individual. The souls of some children are quite well developed, and they thus have a “natural advantage” over others. (It’s a competition, but mostly with self, finally.) Each of you knows, before being born into earth life, that this experience will be a test of spirit… an opportunity to grow, but also to regress… particularly in as competitive a culture as yours is.