that the social benefits of maintaining friendships, opening up to people, engaging in events, etc. also have significant longevity benefits and in many cases seem to offset the damage of social drinking.

Could we all just do all of those things without drinking? Sure, in a perfect world, but we all know that's not how it works.

Hats off to Stu (for real) for being able manage all of those things without a drink. I'm pretty comfortable personally with how my moderate level of drinking enhances my life in other ways.