Wild and crazy... me?

Many of us atheists have heard and shook our heads at the claims by some theists that non-believers are just wild and crazy party animals. If they were to be believed, we just smoke, get drunk and do drugs from dusk to dawn. However, this couldn't be much further from the truth.

I'm not opposed to someone enjoying a drink, but I've never met an atheist like to one described above. I don't pretend to represent every atheist, but lets put the above claim to the test and point the microscope at me.

Smoking:  I have never even tried a single puff of a cigarette. In fact the very thought of purposely inhaling smoke disgusts and I can't understand what appeal anyone could possible find in it.

Drugs: Again, I've never tried them, held them, or even seen them in person other than the time someone left a baggie of pot on the school bus and driver found it and questioned everyone. While I don't understand why marijuana is illegal, when cigarettes still are, the prospect of smoking anything does not strike me as pleasant in any regard. As far as harder drugs, I'm not about to risk my one and only life on some temporary high.

Alcohol: I must admit that there isn't much alcohol that I actually like. I have yet to find a beer that I enjoy. I like some wines, rum and coke, and the closest thing to beer I like are various apple and pear ciders. So when I've had a rough day, I may choose to unwind with a bottle of Fox Barrel. But I certainly don't take it to the alcoholic drunkard levels some Christians would have you believe.

In fact, I've never been drunk... not even once. And you know what, i actually like it that way. A bit of a buzz is quite fine by me. I'm in the safety of my home, I'm loosened up, and my wife says a little funnier as well. But I am still aware of everything I am saying and doing. My filter may be more open, and i may be loosened up, but I'm still perfectly aware, and I like it that way.

In fact, one of the reasons (the other is the dreaded hangover... seriously, how can being drunk be worth that?) I choose not to get drunk is that I do not wish to surrender that control over my actions. I wish to remain rational and able to make cognitive choices and decisions rather than simply bumble blindly along in a drunken haze. When you're drunk, you don't make the best choices and are easily led. In fact, you may believe anything.

In a way, it mirrors my non-belief. I choose reason over being drunk over religion. I value informed choices and decision making over being blindly led. So in a way, my boring (as some people would call it) stance on drinking and partying (did I mention that parties aren't my thing) is rather appropriate for me on multiple levels.

And don't believe all the claims you hear believers make about atheists. They're almost always false, and sometimes the very opposite is actually true.


-Brain Hulk

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