By McKinnley Bartels

Alcohol has been around since the beginning of time. It has been used for various reasons throughout history.

 For example, in the Babylonian era, beer and wine were used as offerings to their Gods. Later, for the next thousand years alcohol evolved into something that was important in hospitality, medical purposes, and an essential part of daily meals. During the modern era, alcohol was viewed as a gift from God, a gift that was created to be used in moderation for enjoyment and health, but drunkenness was viewed as a sin.

Looking at today’s world and how alcohol is used, it is very different. It could easily be said that people now abuse and overuse alcohol. Going from something that once had some very important uses to a drink that is consumed at parties, when people are angry, depressed, or just because they can, has led to an increase of alcoholics.

People who drink a lot and have no control over their intake  have a disease known as alcoholism. In most situations alcoholism runs through your family blood line. This notion leads people to believe that if there is an alcoholic in your family, such as a parent, then you are destined to be an alcoholic as well. This is not true. Yes, alcoholism is a disease that is hereditary, but all that means is that there’s a potential  and a higher risk of you having the disease as well, you still have a choice in the matter though. Individuals can still choose whether or not they’re going to drink all the time and become just another statistic in this world of how many alcoholics offspring become just like their parents.