The myth of the ‘good person’

The Romans had a phrase for when wine starts talking: In vino veritas.

In wine, truth.

‘Good person’ is not a diagnosis, a legal defense, or a Christian understanding of the human heart.

The phrase is linked to Pliny the Elder, who wrote that drunkenness brings out “the secrets of the mind.”

His examples included lust, anger, reckless words, violence, and lost memory.

When restraint disappeared, wisdom did not show up.

Wine is not a truth serum. Alcohol clouds judgment and weakens self-control. We do not get drunk before driving, watching children, or making important decisions. Impaired judgment rarely produces better choices.

Still, nobody says, “He got drunk and spent the evening showing patience, wisdom, and self-control.”

Take away the guardrails, and something besides goodness often comes out.

What does this say about