I am normally skeptical of “scientific” studies that purport to find a linkage between what seem to be unrelated phenomena, but this makes sense:
Go here to read the rest. Liberalism, enough to drive people to drink.
Makes Sense
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Correlations =/= causation. Or there may be a different cause at work.
For instance, Nevada has the highest alcohol use but that is probably because people go there specifically to indulge in vice.
Likewise, as states become more liberal they increase the social safety net (providing employment for health-Nazi Ed.D. and MSW types plus an army of “civil servants”) but also attracting poor “clients” who are likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.
This provides endless opportunities for elites to discover the need for tax-funded drug and alcohol programs.
Just a theory. But I work at a shelter and the poor certainly vote with their feet for NY vs. sunnier climes like GA, MS, or even VA.
“Religion, for example, has been linked to healthier lifestyles by discouraging alcohol and tobacco consumption while encouraging exercise and personal hygiene.”
The last phrase may well be correct, But The monks in the early Church used to brew beer as a way to get their dietary protein, because they were generally vegetarian. And what about the favoured spirit on many, Benedictine.
And wineries -many of the famous wines in France were started by religious orders. One of our better vintages down here is named “Saints”; and in the Hawkes Bay region, the Marist Fathers had their seminary where, to be self sufficient, they started “Mission Estate” a very fine vintage, and still produce much of the altar wine for our churches.
As for beer, I can only say that I and my family must be descended from the same families as those monks in the early Church – Saxony, England and the Celtic regions, for we believe, along with most of my countrymen, that a moderate but regular consumption of good ale is a balm to the spirit, a good health providor to the body and a means to solve the world’s problems – especially with a group of men gathered around a leaner in a pleasant bar for an hour or so.
I know that Connecticut has “gone to hell in a basket.” Our governor has made it possible to sell liquor on Sunday now and the state is now in the drug growing
business! I hope to move out of here soon. Any ideas where to go where the
Lord rules? No know any, I bet!
I would think that drug usage is higher also in politically liberal states. (I only read the teaser, not the entire article).