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It is a common warning that when drinking, one should avoid any talk on religion or politics because that’s a recipe for disaster. These topics are very personal to some people, and if someone criticizes their deity or candidate – add to that the effects of alcohol to everyone – it is often just a matter of time before a drunken remark is taken the wrong way by the drunk listener, leading to more hostile exchanges that won’t be limited to words.
Interestingly, religion, politics, and alcohol have one thing in common: they get people drunk. The religious followers get drunk on the promise of salvation and wellbeing amid all their problems – while the religious leaders get drunk with power. The political followers get drunk on the promise of an end to corruption and poverty – while the political leaders get drunk with power.
And of course, if there’s the intoxication, sometimes there’s also the hangover. This may exclude the deeply religious who never ‘sobered up’ until they died, but oftentimes the faithful are sooner or later confronted with the problem of evil and gratuitous pain, and many suffer from cognitive dissonance trying to reconcile this with the existence of a loving and powerful deity. On the other hand, when politicians fail to deliver their promises, their supporters wake up with a splitting headache to an ugly reality.
On May 10 many will get drunk with hope – hope for a better government and a better life. A lot is at stake here and there are forces trying to jeopardize this hope, so people get emotional and wary at the same time. And this is where the liquor ban makes sense because you wouldn’t want to add any more intoxication to all the excitement.
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DISCLAIMER: Views expressed in this article represent the views of the author ‘innerminds‘ and do not necessarily represent the editorial position of www.filipino-freethinkers-22d5b3.ingress-earth.easywp.com.
i have a similar experience bout this.it almost broke into a gunfight.tangina muslim pala yung katabi ko.hahaha.
kase i was talking about Salman Rushdie.HAHA
Well, 3 days before election many Filipinos are already drunk (with hope) – Let's wait for the hang-over after election – when all losing candidates raise hell.
Booze and religion are addictive drugs. People really need them to satisfy themselves. But the satisfaction is just temporary.