Can I help you, ossifer?
I promised everyone a commentary on how I think society in the United States could use a good enema. I already touched on one item: nudity. I find it ironic that we ban nudity on television and in public, but violence is perfectly OK. Janet shows some nipple at the Superbowl, and we all get our panties in a bunch; but we have no problem showing people shooting other people during prime time. To this I say: WHAT THE F***! (For you religious-types out there, I didn't see any Commandment that said, "Thou shalt not streak." It DOES, however, say "Thou shalt not KILL." Go figure.)
Second on my list is our views on drinking. Now, I haven't looked up German law, nor have I been to Germany; but my family has several German friends, from whom I learned about this interesting bit of trivia I'm about to share. In Germany, you can drink (in public) around the age of 16 (12 with a parent, and then only beer or wine). You can't get your driver's license until ... 18 or 21, I forget which. And Germany seems to have few problems with drinking and driving (their DWI laws are quite strict, too).
Here in the United States we have it ass-backwards. You can get your license BEFORE you're allowed to drink. Now, I see two problems with this right off. One: how is a young adult/teenager to know--by experience--the effects of alcohol on the human body if they DON'T get that experience (legally, I mean)? And then, not knowing how impaired they can be, they get behind the wheel.
Oops!
In Germany, their younger citizenry KNOW what alcohol can do. Germans aren't anal-retentive about alcohol, and thusly fewer of their people seem to have issues with drinking, let alone drinking and driving.
It is also well known that the more you restrict something from someone, the more they'll either completely disregard the restriction; or, when the restriction is lifted, they'll go hog-wild. Dieters suffer this phenomenon. They'll forbid themselves all those gooey treats and starve themselves, and then, one day, they'll binge and actually GAIN weight instead of lose it. It's just how the human mind works; whether it's with alcohol, food, or whatever. And yet, we Americans don't seem to realize this when it comes to drinking, because it's so *evil*.
And then there's pot. But I'll save that for my next post.
Second on my list is our views on drinking. Now, I haven't looked up German law, nor have I been to Germany; but my family has several German friends, from whom I learned about this interesting bit of trivia I'm about to share. In Germany, you can drink (in public) around the age of 16 (12 with a parent, and then only beer or wine). You can't get your driver's license until ... 18 or 21, I forget which. And Germany seems to have few problems with drinking and driving (their DWI laws are quite strict, too).
Here in the United States we have it ass-backwards. You can get your license BEFORE you're allowed to drink. Now, I see two problems with this right off. One: how is a young adult/teenager to know--by experience--the effects of alcohol on the human body if they DON'T get that experience (legally, I mean)? And then, not knowing how impaired they can be, they get behind the wheel.
Oops!
In Germany, their younger citizenry KNOW what alcohol can do. Germans aren't anal-retentive about alcohol, and thusly fewer of their people seem to have issues with drinking, let alone drinking and driving.
It is also well known that the more you restrict something from someone, the more they'll either completely disregard the restriction; or, when the restriction is lifted, they'll go hog-wild. Dieters suffer this phenomenon. They'll forbid themselves all those gooey treats and starve themselves, and then, one day, they'll binge and actually GAIN weight instead of lose it. It's just how the human mind works; whether it's with alcohol, food, or whatever. And yet, we Americans don't seem to realize this when it comes to drinking, because it's so *evil*.
And then there's pot. But I'll save that for my next post.
posted by xanadian at 8:40 AM
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