Is it not part of being a professional, in any profession (such as my own, not a commercial pilot), to behave to certain standards regardless of the pressures that are brought to bear (financial, personal, whatever)? Drinking to excess because of some personal problem or distance from home - what a load of cobblers. Perhaps neurosurgeons should reconsider their attitude towards drinking and operating as well ...
I'm not quite sure what your point is; there's a high incidence (bad pun, sorry) of alcohol/drug issues in most professions. It seems to me that awareness and a feeling of "there but for the grace of God go I" is a healthy thing. As I take Slickster's post, it's not a defense of drinking and flying; rather, it's a recognition that none of us are immune to potentially developing some sort of difficulty and that there are unique pressures in flying that can aggravate a predisposition. The same is true in medicine and law, for that matter. If you accept the disease model of addiction, I don't see how it is possible to somehow think that certain professionals should be immune. Ironically, some of the traits that make people good pilots, such as intelligence, attention to detail and perfectionism are correlated with a predisposition to alcohol issues. These are also, I might add, traits I would want in a neurosurgeon...