#1 ·
DEAR FRIENDS
My name is Ilija Petreski—I am a regular member of the IRA "Healthy Living" group out of Memphis. I have been sober for five years now.
Nowadays, you hear the truth about the consequences of alcohol being shouted from the rooftops, so it feels surreal that people still can’t—or simply won't—see or hear it. It makes me wonder: maybe we need to be doing something else entirely? With that in mind, I want to share some of my thoughts on how we fight this evil.
The drive to make progress in the fight against alcoholism haunts me constantly. Whether I'm talking to someone brilliant or someone struggling, an elder or a child, the conversation always circles back to one thing: how do we destroy the scourge of alcohol? It is arguably the greatest plague facing humanity. I am just a flawed, relatively uneducated man who has made mistakes in his past, yet I find myself compelled to write down advice on this subject—the most complex territory I know. I hesitated for a long time because I felt it might seem presumptuous or even arrogant to speak up, but I felt I had to write it.
Thousands, even millions, of eyes look toward recovery groups as their only hope for escaping the hell of addiction. Those eyes put immense pressure on local AA chapters, providing both a heavy weight and a sense of purpose for the members. I don't know how things stand elsewhere, but the battle against alcohol and the disease of addiction here in America right now is nothing short of catastrophic. You could count the actual experts in addiction science on one hand. The government provides virtually no funding for the essential work these groups do, there are no specialized medical schools churning out new professionals to tackle this crisis, and perhaps the main reason why only a handful of effective programs exist is the sheer indifference of our leadership. I am not claiming to have invented a brand-new magic bullet. The methods used by our wonderful therapists are beautiful, but I think it is incredibly naive to believe they can solve the problem of alcoholism alone. This fight requires the involvement of every rational person and every major public institution. For us to truly help those suffering, every reasonable person needs to acknowledge their own role in this cycle of pain, change their lifestyle, and tear down the barriers that separate them from those struggling. We need to offer them sincere love and attention—that is the only true miracle cure.
When a person begins to focus on self-improvement and realizes their own flaws, they have to start fixing them. Improving yourself is the best way to raise your children and lead the adults in your life. But what do people actually do? They claim, "It’s just not right to be without wine or bourbon when you're closing a deal, celebrating a holiday, a wedding, or a funeral." Sure, you should think carefully about the circumstances of any transaction or celebration, but expecting everyone to get drunk isn't the answer. Take holidays, for example. A holiday is meant to be a pause, a break from physical labor. It’s a chance to reconnect with family and friends, to talk, and to find joy. Most importantly, it's a moment to reflect on one's behavior and find peace of soul. Instead of meaningful connection, people drown themselves in spirits, and instead of finding peace, they end up cursing, fighting, and brawling. Or consider a baptism. A new life is starting, and we should be thinking about how to raise that child well. To raise someone properly, you first have to fix yourself—to unlearn evil and learn good. Yet, instead, we turn to drinking. It’s even worse at weddings. Young couples commit to living in harmony, love, and peace, intending to nurture their future children. They should be setting an example for a healthy life. Instead—more booze. And the absolute worst is at funerals. A person has departed from where they came; they have gone from God to God. We should be reflecting on the soul, if not now, then certainly when we leave the cemetery after burying a father, mother, or brother. And what happens? Wine and liquor and all the chaos that follows. We tell ourselves, "It's tradition; you have to drink to honor them." But our ancestors didn't realize how destructive this was. We finally *do* realize it. And once we realize it, we have to stop the alcohol and the stupidity that comes with it. If a person stays sober for just a year or two, they will see: first, they’ll notice there is much more money left in the bank (experts know that while the cost of indulgence grows arithmetically, the resources needed to fuel that pleasure grow quadratically); second, they will avoid so many cruel words and bad deeds; third, there will be more harmony, love, and peace in the family; and fourth, most importantly, they will find peace in their souls, feeling the genuine joy of a productive human life—a life that serves them and, even more, serves those they love most.
They say if the government actually wanted to show some good faith, they could step up and help—or at least try to soften the blow of the alcohol crisis. But instead, they just make things harder. For reasons known only to themselves, they keep complicating the situation, creating this fake illusion that everything is under control. It’s a massive distraction from the real issues tearing citizens apart. Young people, especially, are being set up for failure because alcohol is everywhere. You can find it on literally every street corner. It reminds me of when they brought those beer festivals to places like Memphis a few years back—basically, they just opened the floodgates for party animals. A lot of people, particularly politicians—who are either much smarter or much stupider than I am—seem perfectly fine with the mess being created. They act like the problem of alcoholism doesn't even exist, or they convince themselves that this lie isn't doing any real damage. So be it; maybe that kind of person is exactly what this country needs. Personally, looking at this entire disgusting lie, all I see is pure malice. I don't even want to waste my energy trying to figure out where the rot runs deepest. In how I live my life, I only answer to my own conscience and moral compass—the kind of internal rules that aren't "mandatory" for anyone else, but are the only things that actually drive progress and promise a sense of harmony for the future. Honestly, it feels naive to think you can ever talk the government out of this. At the end of the day, they're the ones profiting most from the lie.
How do we actually get the word out about the fight against alcohol abuse and its devastating impact on health? We need to attack this from two different angles. First, we have to lobby our government institutions to step up and take responsibility for mitigating the fallout caused by the damage alcohol does to society. Second, we need to figure out how to harness the power of the media to drive the conversation home.
When I write about the fight against addiction, I always circle back to one crucial thing: how we raise our kids and the massive influence our environment has on shaping who they become. Kids aren't exactly equipped to judge what’s happening around them objectively. To them, their parents are basically gods, and if they see us acting a certain way, they assume that’s just how life works. They think our behavior is the gold standard. If a parent is constantly drinking, a child isn't going to question it; they’re just going to internalize it and decide that this is the "normal" or correct way to live. I'm not just talking theory here, either—look at the facts. We've seen the legal drinking age and social norms shift so much that kids are being exposed to alcohol culture as early as ten or twelve years old. It starts early, and that sets a dangerous precedent.
Teachers play such a massive role in shaping a child's character, which is exactly why we need to prioritize their training. We have to get serious about protecting young people from addiction, specifically by tackling the scourge of alcohol—which honestly feels like the root cause of so many other issues. We should be organizing professional seminars where addiction specialists can pass their expertise directly to teachers and professors. From there, we could implement regular addiction prevention programs in every elementary and high school across the country. I’m convinced that if kids are educated about the dangers of alcohol early on, we’ll see a huge drop in the number of students ending up in detox centers after their proms or graduation parties.
At the end of the day, medical science and actual experts should be leading the charge against alcoholism. Unfortunately, for reasons I can’t quite wrap my head around, that just isn't how it works in practice. Almost every time I try to convince someone that alcohol is genuinely destructive, they hit me with the same excuse: "But my doctor said it's fine!" They tell me their physician recommended a glass of bourbon before dinner to help with circulation, or maybe a shot of herbal liqueur to kickstart digestion, or even a glass of red wine to bump up their blood pressure. One friend of mine—a highly educated guy, mind you—actually tried to swear by me that there’s no better cure for a cold than a shot of brandy infused with nettles. Honestly, God help me, I was crossing myself just trying to process that. It felt like we were living in the Stone Age. In these moments, I feel like I'm standing alone with the truth. To them, the word of an unqualified doctor carries more weight than anything else. They don't seem to care that medical science has proven time and again that alcohol is far more damaging to the body than fats, which don't even offer any real benefits. It's a settled fact that doctors openly acknowledge: there is no medicine that can be safely consumed alongside alcohol.
If we’re going to take on the fight against alcoholism, we absolutely have to harness the power of the media. We need to leverage radio, TV, and even launch a magazine that gets handed out for free to students in schools. If we can get people interested, the media will amplify that momentum, making the presence of the IRA as undeniable as a blizzard in Chicago. The media has this incredible ability to spin any lie into truth, so it shouldn't be hard at all for them to hammer home the reality of alcohol addiction. Once the message sinks in—especially for those struggling with addiction—they'll feel the weight of their own conscience, or perhaps the pressure from the reasonable people around them, pushing them to finally seek salvation through the IRA.
If we look at many of the most advanced nations, it’s clear that we need to start opening recovery clubs in every major city across America. We need to proactively identify people struggling with alcohol addiction and maintain constant contact with those who need support. To truly defeat the scourge of alcoholism and actually do some good for our communities, it isn't about having a massive budget. It’s about having the courage to occasionally step away from our modern way of life and return to the fundamental moral values that we've somehow managed to lose sight of in these difficult times. We have to move past the intense delusions we're currently living in; we need to pull ourselves out of the mud first if we ever hope to help anyone else climb out of it.
Please forgive me for rambling on like this; I just didn't have the time to write something shorter.
My name is Ilija Petreski—I am a regular member of the IRA "Healthy Living" group out of Memphis. I have been sober for five years now.
Nowadays, you hear the truth about the consequences of alcohol being shouted from the rooftops, so it feels surreal that people still can’t—or simply won't—see or hear it. It makes me wonder: maybe we need to be doing something else entirely? With that in mind, I want to share some of my thoughts on how we fight this evil.
The drive to make progress in the fight against alcoholism haunts me constantly. Whether I'm talking to someone brilliant or someone struggling, an elder or a child, the conversation always circles back to one thing: how do we destroy the scourge of alcohol? It is arguably the greatest plague facing humanity. I am just a flawed, relatively uneducated man who has made mistakes in his past, yet I find myself compelled to write down advice on this subject—the most complex territory I know. I hesitated for a long time because I felt it might seem presumptuous or even arrogant to speak up, but I felt I had to write it.
Thousands, even millions, of eyes look toward recovery groups as their only hope for escaping the hell of addiction. Those eyes put immense pressure on local AA chapters, providing both a heavy weight and a sense of purpose for the members. I don't know how things stand elsewhere, but the battle against alcohol and the disease of addiction here in America right now is nothing short of catastrophic. You could count the actual experts in addiction science on one hand. The government provides virtually no funding for the essential work these groups do, there are no specialized medical schools churning out new professionals to tackle this crisis, and perhaps the main reason why only a handful of effective programs exist is the sheer indifference of our leadership. I am not claiming to have invented a brand-new magic bullet. The methods used by our wonderful therapists are beautiful, but I think it is incredibly naive to believe they can solve the problem of alcoholism alone. This fight requires the involvement of every rational person and every major public institution. For us to truly help those suffering, every reasonable person needs to acknowledge their own role in this cycle of pain, change their lifestyle, and tear down the barriers that separate them from those struggling. We need to offer them sincere love and attention—that is the only true miracle cure.
When a person begins to focus on self-improvement and realizes their own flaws, they have to start fixing them. Improving yourself is the best way to raise your children and lead the adults in your life. But what do people actually do? They claim, "It’s just not right to be without wine or bourbon when you're closing a deal, celebrating a holiday, a wedding, or a funeral." Sure, you should think carefully about the circumstances of any transaction or celebration, but expecting everyone to get drunk isn't the answer. Take holidays, for example. A holiday is meant to be a pause, a break from physical labor. It’s a chance to reconnect with family and friends, to talk, and to find joy. Most importantly, it's a moment to reflect on one's behavior and find peace of soul. Instead of meaningful connection, people drown themselves in spirits, and instead of finding peace, they end up cursing, fighting, and brawling. Or consider a baptism. A new life is starting, and we should be thinking about how to raise that child well. To raise someone properly, you first have to fix yourself—to unlearn evil and learn good. Yet, instead, we turn to drinking. It’s even worse at weddings. Young couples commit to living in harmony, love, and peace, intending to nurture their future children. They should be setting an example for a healthy life. Instead—more booze. And the absolute worst is at funerals. A person has departed from where they came; they have gone from God to God. We should be reflecting on the soul, if not now, then certainly when we leave the cemetery after burying a father, mother, or brother. And what happens? Wine and liquor and all the chaos that follows. We tell ourselves, "It's tradition; you have to drink to honor them." But our ancestors didn't realize how destructive this was. We finally *do* realize it. And once we realize it, we have to stop the alcohol and the stupidity that comes with it. If a person stays sober for just a year or two, they will see: first, they’ll notice there is much more money left in the bank (experts know that while the cost of indulgence grows arithmetically, the resources needed to fuel that pleasure grow quadratically); second, they will avoid so many cruel words and bad deeds; third, there will be more harmony, love, and peace in the family; and fourth, most importantly, they will find peace in their souls, feeling the genuine joy of a productive human life—a life that serves them and, even more, serves those they love most.
They say if the government actually wanted to show some good faith, they could step up and help—or at least try to soften the blow of the alcohol crisis. But instead, they just make things harder. For reasons known only to themselves, they keep complicating the situation, creating this fake illusion that everything is under control. It’s a massive distraction from the real issues tearing citizens apart. Young people, especially, are being set up for failure because alcohol is everywhere. You can find it on literally every street corner. It reminds me of when they brought those beer festivals to places like Memphis a few years back—basically, they just opened the floodgates for party animals. A lot of people, particularly politicians—who are either much smarter or much stupider than I am—seem perfectly fine with the mess being created. They act like the problem of alcoholism doesn't even exist, or they convince themselves that this lie isn't doing any real damage. So be it; maybe that kind of person is exactly what this country needs. Personally, looking at this entire disgusting lie, all I see is pure malice. I don't even want to waste my energy trying to figure out where the rot runs deepest. In how I live my life, I only answer to my own conscience and moral compass—the kind of internal rules that aren't "mandatory" for anyone else, but are the only things that actually drive progress and promise a sense of harmony for the future. Honestly, it feels naive to think you can ever talk the government out of this. At the end of the day, they're the ones profiting most from the lie.
How do we actually get the word out about the fight against alcohol abuse and its devastating impact on health? We need to attack this from two different angles. First, we have to lobby our government institutions to step up and take responsibility for mitigating the fallout caused by the damage alcohol does to society. Second, we need to figure out how to harness the power of the media to drive the conversation home.
When I write about the fight against addiction, I always circle back to one crucial thing: how we raise our kids and the massive influence our environment has on shaping who they become. Kids aren't exactly equipped to judge what’s happening around them objectively. To them, their parents are basically gods, and if they see us acting a certain way, they assume that’s just how life works. They think our behavior is the gold standard. If a parent is constantly drinking, a child isn't going to question it; they’re just going to internalize it and decide that this is the "normal" or correct way to live. I'm not just talking theory here, either—look at the facts. We've seen the legal drinking age and social norms shift so much that kids are being exposed to alcohol culture as early as ten or twelve years old. It starts early, and that sets a dangerous precedent.
Teachers play such a massive role in shaping a child's character, which is exactly why we need to prioritize their training. We have to get serious about protecting young people from addiction, specifically by tackling the scourge of alcohol—which honestly feels like the root cause of so many other issues. We should be organizing professional seminars where addiction specialists can pass their expertise directly to teachers and professors. From there, we could implement regular addiction prevention programs in every elementary and high school across the country. I’m convinced that if kids are educated about the dangers of alcohol early on, we’ll see a huge drop in the number of students ending up in detox centers after their proms or graduation parties.
At the end of the day, medical science and actual experts should be leading the charge against alcoholism. Unfortunately, for reasons I can’t quite wrap my head around, that just isn't how it works in practice. Almost every time I try to convince someone that alcohol is genuinely destructive, they hit me with the same excuse: "But my doctor said it's fine!" They tell me their physician recommended a glass of bourbon before dinner to help with circulation, or maybe a shot of herbal liqueur to kickstart digestion, or even a glass of red wine to bump up their blood pressure. One friend of mine—a highly educated guy, mind you—actually tried to swear by me that there’s no better cure for a cold than a shot of brandy infused with nettles. Honestly, God help me, I was crossing myself just trying to process that. It felt like we were living in the Stone Age. In these moments, I feel like I'm standing alone with the truth. To them, the word of an unqualified doctor carries more weight than anything else. They don't seem to care that medical science has proven time and again that alcohol is far more damaging to the body than fats, which don't even offer any real benefits. It's a settled fact that doctors openly acknowledge: there is no medicine that can be safely consumed alongside alcohol.
If we’re going to take on the fight against alcoholism, we absolutely have to harness the power of the media. We need to leverage radio, TV, and even launch a magazine that gets handed out for free to students in schools. If we can get people interested, the media will amplify that momentum, making the presence of the IRA as undeniable as a blizzard in Chicago. The media has this incredible ability to spin any lie into truth, so it shouldn't be hard at all for them to hammer home the reality of alcohol addiction. Once the message sinks in—especially for those struggling with addiction—they'll feel the weight of their own conscience, or perhaps the pressure from the reasonable people around them, pushing them to finally seek salvation through the IRA.
If we look at many of the most advanced nations, it’s clear that we need to start opening recovery clubs in every major city across America. We need to proactively identify people struggling with alcohol addiction and maintain constant contact with those who need support. To truly defeat the scourge of alcoholism and actually do some good for our communities, it isn't about having a massive budget. It’s about having the courage to occasionally step away from our modern way of life and return to the fundamental moral values that we've somehow managed to lose sight of in these difficult times. We have to move past the intense delusions we're currently living in; we need to pull ourselves out of the mud first if we ever hope to help anyone else climb out of it.
Please forgive me for rambling on like this; I just didn't have the time to write something shorter.