One thing I've learned about the "romanticizing" thing (mentioned a bunch in this thread) is that you never really know what someone else is going through. I think a lot of people who adorn themselves in Hallmark "wine o' clock" merchandise, or wax philosophical about whiskey tastings, or brag about weekend binges, can just as easily be secret alcoholics. I know -- because I was one.
There's the myth of the "gutter" alcoholic; someone who can't hold a job or keep a nice place, who can't maintain relationships etc. etc... sure, those people exist. But look around, there's folks here from all walks of life. I was a workaholic/alcoholic in stable relationships who had a "love of craft beer and good whiskey." I was the guy who could keep a party going late into the night. To the vast majority of people, I was a social drinker who enjoyed fine alcohol as a hobby. Those people never saw me take a morning drink. They never saw the withdrawals. They never saw the addiction. They saw a person with a "normal" relationship with alcohol and a lot of "fun" stories (the guys still love to tell drunk stories about me in my early 20s).
It's the AV talking if you find yourself looking at the "normal" people and wishing you could be more like them.
We're not broken. Alcohol is an addictive poison - the social romanticization of it is the real problem here. A certain percentage of the public are bound to have an addictive response to this drug. There's a massive industry fueled primarily by its addicts (we're not incidental, they are counting on alcoholics for short-term quarterly gains).
No, I'm not going to go out and shame people and launch a crusade against booze, I don't think it should be illegal, either -- but I've definitely reframed my thinking on this. There's nothing grand or glorious about alcohol. There's nothing romantic about it. There's nothing special or enviable about a "normal" drinker. That's AV-thinking.