Teetotalism

Teetotalism is the practice of never drinking alcohol. As Wikipedia says, there are many reasons one might be a teetotaler, including religion, health, family, or taste preferences.

Teetotalism is a strange word, and no one is sure where it comes from. One story goes that it came from a stutterer named Dicky Turner who said, at a meeting of the Preston Temperance Society in 1832, that the only acceptable behavior is "tee-tee-total abstinence." Ol' crazy stuttering Dicky.

I myself can't claim to be a teetotaler. I like a good drink every now and then as much as the next guy. But I respect teetotaling. If you don't like to drink, don't do it. Fine by me. Prohibition on the other hand, not so good. All it leads to is old-timey gangsters and old-timey machine guns.

In general, I'm against prohibiting things but in support of letting people not do things if they don't want to.


Not a teetotaler.
Photo: Christopher Henning via Flickr (CC)