Sensible management of adult indulgences

I will be at the back of the line of those to criticize the catalog of common adult leisure behaviors that accompany, well, being an adult in America.  We drink alcohol, we engage in personally risky behaviors from smoking to fast driving, we augment or enhance or lives with drugs legal and not always legal, and everyone salts their speech with phrases which would have shocked our grandparents. So be it.

By the way, the academics have always called these behaviors ‘volitional disorders’ and I have come to believe that they are not disorders but they are very much controllable to a certain degree.

But behavior in excess has a very high price.  The DUI count continues to mount (whether or not the arrests increase) as alleged adults are still certain they can drive impaired. The geniuses who are busted are now often doing hard time.  This makes no sense to me since there are always people who would DD in a pinch.  Personally, I found myself without a DD over a year ago, so I just go home early (safer to drink at home) and Zeke is the only one who has to put up with me.

 The unemployment statistics rarely include calculations of people unable to work anywhere because they cannot pass the hair follicle test. The careers that do not advance because men or women have clearly made lifestyle choices which trickles into their daily work patterns. Sadly, this now includes chronic chain smokers, who (not unlike parents without babysitters) disrupt everyone else’s work patterns with their own personal needs. Drugs include prescription meds in many cases, where the effect is disruptive for those around the chronic user.

The key factor in these adult pleasures or requirements (note no reference for kids, even older kids) is the notion of control.  There seem to be no discussions of moderation, or sensible balancing of levels of use, or even reengineering of the indulgences themselves.  I would have thought with the legalization of weed some brilliant agro-engineer would have developed a three hour high so you could drive home safely after your 47^th grateful dead revival concert. Or beer and wine with a short term effect.  Just dreaming.

I guess I will have to be two faced -- continuing to support adult indulgences (better than having even more neurotic people) and still trying to take away car keys.