For some reason I think its time for people to step back and look at drinking from a different perspective.
Chazal teach us that one can see the essence of a person from three things one of those is drinking. The reason is because after one drinks to the point where he has no control over himself then his essence comes out. You get to see who he really is.
In fact the simple way of understandin the Chiyuv on Purim is through this Mamar Chazal.
Normally one acts in a refined manner simply because he knows the difference between good and bad.
On Purim we are told to bring ourselves to a point beyond that where we do not have a conscious realization of the difference between “Mordechai” good and “Haman” bad. But still we are must act as Mordechai in other words on Purim we bring out the essence of a person.
Have we ever stopped to realize what it is that is occuring around us on Purim.
Yes Boys and Men are Drunk, Totally Drunk.
But what are the vast majority of them doing?
Hugging and Kissing each other collecting money for tzeddaka. Crying over the past year and making up with those they did not get along with. Yes they are wild, very wild. But I have yet to see fighting between men on Purim rather it is utter Joy one sees.
In my opinion the greatest Kidddush Hashem of the entire year is on Purim it is the one time we get to see the true difference between a Yid and Goy we get to see yidden with no control over themselves with no real knowledge of their actions showing their inherent Beauty.
And if it comes to pass that this changes then it is the Parents and Rabbeim those raising a new generation that must stop and ask themselves why this is.
Why is that we are raising a new generation that is inherently unhappy that when drunk does not act like the Bochrim of five years ago rather acts like a goy?
That is a question that I am afraid those that campaighn against drinkning will not ask for it would raise questions that require ansewers many are unwilling to give.
In conclusion I would like to relate an episode I witnessed as a Bochur.
It was Purim Day and we were all drinking at my Maggid Shiurs house. An elderly Russian Man was passing by and someone invited him in.
He was an obvious irreligious Jew.
He stayed the whole day.
At night he told some he was a Doctor who was about to retire. He had never done mitzvos since he grew up in Communist Russia.
He went on to say that he had never seen anything so moving in his entire life.
In Russia when people would get drunk they would kill each other over here for the first time in his life he saw a buch of Drunk men with their teacher dead drunk and singing and dancing with each other.
He then asked if someone could get him in touch with a person to teach him about Torah.
Seeing a bunch of Drunk and wild Yeshiva Bochrim on Purim brought a Feir Yid to Torah,
Are we capable of seeing what this Frei Yid saw.