[FreedomCalls]

You are one of the rare ones to know about this. Americans to this day drink far less than we did before Prohibition. We were composed heavily of recent immigrants from countries such as Ireland and Germany, known for widespread alcohol use. In the cities, most industrial workers went to the bar after work, just like in the old country. In the West, the image of the saloon as a public gathering place was not a Hollywood invention. People drank a lot in 1900. We, as a country, don't drink nearly as much today. Compare per capita drinking in the U.S. today to Ireland or Germany or even Australia (a country with similar immigration patterns, but who did not go through Prohibition) and we are far lower than them.

[GunRunner]

Yes, our drinking comsumption is far lower than Europe. But our drunk driving problem is considerably worse, especially with young people. This is due to many factors I would expect: the necessity to drive in America due to its size in respect to European countries, the lack of widespread public transit like in Europe, and our ridiculous drinking age. Alcohol is not the forbidden fruit there like it is here to 18-20 years olds, and for the most part they are more responsible with it.