Between being an airline pilot and being in the military I've been traveling around the globe for 30 years. Never once have I been asked for an ID in a foreign country yet in the U.S. we're obsessed with making sure alcohol never touches the lips of a 20 year old. In Germany the drinking age is 16, in Italy you'll see ten year old's drinking wine in a restaurant. Amazingly the world doesn't blow up when this happens. These countries also have far fewer problems with alcoholism than the U.S.
In the U.S. today we treat a 20 year old with a beer like he's carrying a kilo of meth. That same 20 year old can be given a machine gun and told to go kill terrorists to keep all of us safe. Meanwhile we'll let some pervert nutcase convince a five year old boy that he's really a girl and pump him full of drugs in preparation for cutting off his genitals.
Our priorities are so screwed up in this country.
It was worse than that in Georgia around 1999 - 2000. They asked EVERYBODY for ID. I remember having a lady in front of me who had to be 85 get asked for her ID. I think she actually enjoyed it because it helped her vicariously relive her salad days.
Great post. It’s all insanity now, 24/7/365. No wonder I retreat to the great outdoors daily.
Interesting, not sure I’ve agreed and disagreed with a post before!
I’m an immigrant, came here from the UK when I was 16. It was an interesting experience, especially on this topic. I totally agree with you that the topic of alcohol is strange in the USA. I knew of a kid in HS that was found to have an EMPTY beer can in his car, he was required to attend some rehab!!
In the UK, at 14 you can be on pub grounds (garden) and an adult can buy you a drink. At 16, you can enter the pub and have an adult buy you a drink. At 18, you can enter the pub and buy yourself a drink. Of course, this is just the ‘official legal’ aspect which is largely ignored. At 16, I could go into a pub and buy a drink. Of course, if you couldn’t be responsible you’d get kicked out and get a reputation very quickly, ending you being welcome.
The main difference I saw coming here...in England I could walk home, at worst catch a (cheap) bus. In the USA all the kids have to drive everywhere. I was astonished at the notion of a “field party”. Now kids would find a place with zero reason to be responsible and also have to drive even further distances! This was at least true here in Michigan - but I’d imagine it’s also true for most States.
I now live in a suburb of Detroit, like most it is a large area of only houses - with zero walkable pubs. I truly believe the best solution for “drinking and driving” is just to allow a couple of pubs here and there around where people live - but the zoning doesn’t allow for it. I really miss being able to walk to the pub, have a few drinks, and walk home.
That said, I completely agree, the way a 20 year old is treated because they have alcohol is absurd - especially considering they could be, as you say, fighting a war. I don’t agree with other countries having fewer alcoholics, they do, if not more - but as said, the _problems_, such as drinking and driving, are probably less. As more people walk to pubs, frequently, they’re usually more responsible - they don’t want a public ‘drunk’ reputation. In the USA, having to drive to a bar is a problem, so drinking non-socially, at home, may lead to having more to drink.
It’s certainly an odd topic, one of the weirdest when I arrived, especially for my brother that was 18 at the time and had been drinking for a few years! It was worse for him :)
Totally agree.
Unfortunately the lawsuit happy system that is us jurisprudence has imprisoned the country.