"Drink responsibly?" That's an oxymoronic slogan brought to you the alcohol companies. If people drank only until their blood alcohol level was .08 or less, Those companies would go out of business. And if someone drinks every day, the body grows dependent on it. That's the definition of addiction. Culture has nothing to do with it. Simply biology. Tell me Psy, have you ever tried to learn something while drunk?
I very rarely get drunk, so I can't say I've ever tried. I don't think you're getting the point, though. The point in Europe is not to get drunk, but to get a bit "buzzed" for lack of a better term, in order to facilitate socialization and discussion in such, not to play drinking games until you pass out. Different countries have differing norms as to what this level of lubrication is. In France a half bottle of wine (often ordered in a pitcher), with a meal between two people, is considered normal (if not an entire bottle). In business meetings in France, you drink. It's just a thing that happens in the culture. There is even a wine drinking holiday where just about everybody gets
trashed on cheap red wine known as "
Beaujolais nouveau" (though the French generally do not readily admit to outsiders they participate in this holiday, or that they would drink such swill).
In Germany, Demmark, Ireland, and elsewhere, the level of acceptable "lubrication" is likely a bit higher. Are people dependent? No. Not everybody drinks every day and even those who do don't necessarily develop alcohol dependence. Having a glass of wine with dinner, even every day, is not a sign of being a drunk in Europe, nor is having a beer with lunch. It's not enough to cause alcohol withdrawal so no, it's not "simple biology". It is culture, and because fewer people are dependent on cars to get around, it's much safer than in the states.
Beer served in high school? Only the devil's advocate can defend that position. Just because a culture is older,doesn't make it better.
If their culture involved stoning women to death, I might agree with you, but I don't see this as better or worse than US culture. So they choose to drink. Big deal. So their culture even considers getting drunk and socializing with friends to be OK. My god, the horror. I agree alcohol has it's dangers, but a lot of those dangers are compounded by societal condemnation. Where there is no societal condemnation, there is no problem.
