Talk About A Revolution

Sobriety is THE counterculture.

I don’t think anyone steps into a sober lifestyle, whatever their motivation, without considering how that choice will separate them from mainstream culture. We find ourselves on the outskirts, picking up random materials, sourcing bits of wood and marble, sanding down and repurposing old tables, building new houses, laying a solid foundation-away from the crowd. What starts as a fortress of solitude morphs into a haven of freedom. One by one we come out of our front doors and find we are not alone in this new place. There are others. Lots of others-also hellbent on a fresh start and self-forgiveness. We commune and deliberate, swap war stories and hallelujahs, compliment each other’s new homes, and form an alliance. I will stay if you stay, I will fight if you fight. Revolution is-this.

No change begins without counterculture. There are always voices gathering, chatting about how a thing should be different before the thing will change. A whisper around a corner, the nod of a head in a crowded room, some posters plastered on a street sign-the markings of a growing conversation.

Ask Iggy Pop or Joey Ramone if they were intentionally creating a new genre of music or simply following a nagging inclination to refuse to perpetuate a tired narrative. When an idea grows stale, someone notices. When someone notices, innovation and progress begins. The 70’s shift from “peace and love” to “rebellion” is the perfect analogy for the modern sobriety movement. It’s not necessarily subtle but still fairly unassuming. It’s about getting louder, getting prouder, getting grittier and showing more teeth-not obvious until you walk into CBGB on a random Friday night in 1973 and feel simultaneously uncomfortable and liberated.

The old stories about sober people are being refreshed and rewritten. We are becoming the heroines instead of the pitied fool. We are the new Punk Rock.

This new wave, fueled by artists and young people, is injecting electricity and glamour into the discussion-we are demanding it actually. Walk into any upscale bar in any major city and you will find a “Zero-Proof” drink list. Open up your mainstream media news source and you will find articles about the growing demand for sober spaces and non-alcoholic beverages. Ask and you shall receive.

The idea that millions of people have decided to drastically reduce or completely eliminate alcohol consumption over the past 3-5 years, simply as an elevated lifestyle choice, is proof that something is in the water and has been for quite some time. I can only speak for myself and the sober friends who’ve shared their experiences with me but collectively we are rejecting the idea that sobriety is a consequence of anything but enlightenment. We are choosing not to drink, not to party, not to drug, not to imbibe in social settings-a radical choice. Holly Whitaker’s book Quit Like A Woman does an excellent job of painting the picture of sobriety as rebellion, which is what spoke to me in those early days. Whether it was the pandemic or the social injustice protests or the scrutiny of Big Pharma or the countless examples of greed and megalomania or the general turbulence of planet Earth over the past few years, people are waking up and asking new questions. Why are we all so miserable? Why are the same people in charge of everything? Why do I consider alcohol to be an accessory for, well, everything? How can I take control of my own life?

Quiet, slow, internal revolution is how a new world is made. It starts with a thought like a whisper, a stunning moment of clarity, a sudden epiphany, unseeable to the bystander, but setting ablaze the soul within. Like a chain reaction, we ignite each other. A thousand tiny fires, growing hotter, scorching the tale of old. If you are sober, sober-curious, or anything in between, you are part of THE counterculture of our time. We are the song of the 70’s, the new wave, demolishing outdated paradigms, creating new language, and building our happy neighborhoods on the outskirts. You should be so proud of yourselves, you rebels you, refusing to swallow poison in the name of creativity, grief, love, or relaxation.

Cheers to being punk as fuck.