Ethical Drinking

A Story by HerbsWords

*Paper due for a Print Media Ethics Class. A humorous take on an ethical decision on whether or not to drink during the writing of this paper. Got me an A, and a few laughs.

I find it incredibly challenging to remember an intellectual, ethical decision I’ve made within my life. After a few grueling minutes of ruminating, I have decided to turn this paper into a medium for an ethical decision I must make. That being said, the question here is whether or not to consume alcohol while writing this paper.

Recently turning 21 years of age my drinking habits have decreased, slightly, but have become a tad more adventurous. The circumstances stand as such: I am in dire need of completing this assignment for class in exactly 12 hours. I am alone and out of ideas and after rummaging through my fridge I have found some Natural Light and about half a bottle of rum. A fair amount to create this paper into a fun romp through my poetic and imaginative brain.

With both decisions having decidedly different circumstances this seems rather black and white. I cannot drink and obtain a hopefully higher grade and respect from my professor or I can drink and receive a variable grade, a buzz and an emotion free night. True both sides have a valid reason and now my personal ethics come into play.

I have decided to not drink as this is the first assignment of the semester and in my mind is already a stretch from the prompt. Adding alcohol to this conundrum (which is a very good white wine) would simply push my writing to the brink of romantic poetry or descriptive prose. I refrain from adding alcohol to classes but it has happened on rare occasion but this decision to not drink was made easier because of the time in the semester. Had this assignment come later in this semester my choice may have differed.

If I were faced with this same choice again I would not stray away from my original decision. I respect English classes over all others and I do not think I could bring myself to drink while writing unless I was writing for personal pleasure. Also I have an enormous respect for professors, all professors. Teaching is a hard job and I would not want to make it harder.