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SPIRITUALITY, JUSTICE AND ETHICAL LIVING | CELEBRATING 194 YEARS
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What else is there to do but have a drink?
By Emma Prestwich
For many Canadians, booze infuses a lot of social interactions. It is present at Christmas dinners, gatherings with colleagues and friends, first dates and summer barbecues. Big cities are awash with cocktail bars, breweries and restaurants aggressively promoting happy hour. And in some small towns, alcohol is a dark joke — “What else is there to do but drink?” some people ask. 

You can’t blame people for enjoying a cold pint or a glass of wine among friends. And a lot of problem drinking occurs among people who consume alone. But the public response to new low-risk consumption guidelines from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction has shone a spotlight on our relationship with libations. 

Social events involving alcohol arguably normalize it too much and can make non-drinkers feel pressured or uncomfortable. And we know that alcohol is harmful, as the new guidelines, which are well researched, show. Consuming large amounts on a regular basis creates huge health and social risks. 

Thankfully, there are more and more non-alcoholic alternatives, like booze-free liquor, beer and wine, for those who want to enjoy a beverage besides Coke at a social event. And some surveys show that Generation Z doesn’t imbibe as much as older Canadians.

What if there were other ways for the rest of us to unwind?

That’s one of several solutions that James Wilt, the author of Drinking Up the Revolution: How to Smash Big Alcohol and Reclaim Working-Class Joy, is calling for in a recent piece in Broadview. He writes that he wants to see more high-quality public amenities that don’t involve alcohol. 

I wonder: what if communities created more bowling alleys? Board game cafés? Social clubs that revolve around hobbies like knitting and painting? Water parks? Movie theatres? Farmers’ markets? Cafés with poetry nights? Swing dances? Would going for a glass of wine still be the default?

United churches have historically done a good job of creating community joy that is not constructed around alcohol, although I think they could do with fewer sit-down meetings and more trips to the bowling alley. 

Wilt thinks we can’t deny alcohol’s harms, but doesn’t think that recognizing its problems should mean prohibition. Instead, he says, we need to “facilitate the development of lower-risk relations with the much-loved substance.”

You can read his full list of proposed policy solutions in his piece here

After you read his opinions, let me know: How do you feel about the new alcohol guidelines? Email me at e.prestwich@broadview.org and we might share your letter in our next newsletter. I’d love to hear from you.

Have a safe and happy weekend.
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LETTERS
In last week’s newsletter, we asked you if you felt proud of your faith community’s advocacy on a social justice issue.

Here is one letter we received.

Note: Responses are lightly edited and condensed for clarity and length.
From Ken Crozier:

The Sunshine Greening Committee of Trinity United Church Acton, chaired by Keith Black, worked with UCC Greening Grant Manager Stephen Collette to install energy-efficient windows and an air-sourced heat pump. We believe this initiative reflects our faith in “living with respect in Creation” and doing our part to lower and eventually end the use of fossil fuels that leads to climate change. This installation builds upon our church’s purchase of solar panels several years ago. 
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