baldysblog.co.uk

Of recent times we are assailed with health warnings on alcohol and how our youth, both male and female are addicted to binge drinking…blah, blah, blah… The truth is that by now after 12 years of this nasty, nagging, meddling and hectoring Labour Government, people by and large have just stopped listening to anything they say on any subject and they really should have cottoned on to this by now.

There are several issues that arise from this behaviour by the Government that I want to comment upon but first a real treat…

Tristram Hunt

The other day there was a most brilliant article in the Times by Tristram Hunt and I would strongly urge you to read it, the URL is:- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5913710.ece

In order to encourage you a short extract that really is a great scene setter for some of the content:

Of course, the CMO (Chief Medical Officer), is not the first to notice our alcoholic ardour. As early as the 8th century, the missionary St Boniface was writing to Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, to report how “in your dioceses the vice of drunkenness is too frequent. This is an evil peculiar to pagans and to our race. Neither the Franks nor the Gauls nor the Lombards nor the Romans nor the Greeks commit it.”

I love that bit, substitute, French German, Spanish, Italian and it becomes so ‘modern’ after 12 Century s !

What Mr Hunt who is an Historian does, is to place an historical context of these days and past times in these islands concerning alcohol and alcohol abuse but the main thrust is as much as “where we drink”. Excellent article and well worth a read.

Personal Responsibility

To me whether over smoking, drinking, drugs, casual sex and obesity, whilst it is true that there is a cost to society in many ways, Law and Order, Medical Care and so on by people indulging or over indulging. It is my feeling that the approach taken over recent years is totally wrong, coercion should only be applied on strictly legal grounds, supply of drugs, disorderly behaviour, under age sex, drinking and so forth.

The only discipline worth a fart is “self discipline” based upon peer group pressure and support. The remit of any Government is restricted and should be confined to “Education and Information” campaigns because the most significant influence always comes from the “Peer Group”.

Peer Groups

We are all familiar with peer group pressure from our early days at school, it is often used for ‘naughty boys’ to encourage other boys to be naughty too. Peer Groups can be negative as well as positive but the simple truth is that pretty much at any age, what is considered the “norm” among our families and friends is likely how we mainly behave.

If all our ‘mates’ smoke or take drugs, we too are likely to do so. If everybody goes to Church on Sunday, likely we will too.

My point is that it would be far more efficient to target “peer groups” than it is individuals and when it comes to young people, get them to ‘advise’ on the ‘how’, enough of all this Parliamentary Bullying !