The problem with the peculiar American attitude towards alcohol is that it creates a false impression that alcohol is some super-powerful remover of sense and inhibition. Suddenly people use it as an excuse. More than that, many experience placebo intoxication because they are told that 0.08% BAC or whatever is enough to leave you stumbling or unable to make sound judgments. They use mild intoxication as an excuse.
That does nobody any favors.
I've seen people, grown adults, act like idiots after being served one glass of of non-alcoholic beer. Nobody told them it was non-alcoholic and they had an expectation of how they should behave after a beer and so they played it out. I've seen other people exercise extremely good judgment, write excellent computer programs, write beautiful prose, and do other extremely difficult intellectual and physical tasks, sometimes under high stress, after three or four shots of hard liquor in an hour.
You know the difference? The people who become stumble-drunks after a near-beer are fools who have bought into the "alcohol is a super drug" BS. They want an excuse to act like idiots and the idea of alcohol gives them that excuse. The other people were responsible adults who knew, even while intoxicated, what was important. They were (and are) of good character and sound judgment drunk or sober. I'd much rather have 100 of them around me with a few beers in them than 1 idiot looking for an excuse to act out who hadn't had a beer in 30 years.
Trying to keep everyone from drinking and doing other things because some people use drink as an excuse to act like idiots is no different than barring everyone from owning firearms because some people go on shooting sprees. It is irrational and counterproductive.
As for people who have never imbibed and never will... I had my first beer exactly where everyone should have their first drink: At home, at the dinner table, with my parents. I was a young teen and yeah, they broke laws by giving me that beer. But you know what? The laws are wrong. Just as wrong as a law saying that a parent couldn't teach their child to shoot a gun would be. I learned responsible drinking the way many people around here say they learned responsible gun handling. I learned that drink is not an excuse, and drink is not an automatic destroyer of judgment, and that you can and should be responsible and sensible when drinking.
There are people who think that the fact that you want to carry a loaded gun is evidence that you are not responsible enough to do so. There are people who think that the fact that you want a drink is evidence that you are not responsible enough to have one. Both positions are based in ignorance and fear.
If you are ignorant, if you don't drink because you don't know what happens or don't trust yourself with even one drink, you aren't a mature and responsible adult and you can't be trusted to participate in the adult world. I don't trust you because you don't trust yourself. Grow up.
As for the people who have problems... There are a few alcoholics. There are also a few people who use guns to cause harm to themselves and others. Deal with those individuals as individuals and don't penalize the majority who are responsible and mentally healthy.
Oh... and
I also was active in having the BAC in Indiana lowered to .8.
That would actually be an increase. Standard BAC for LEGAL (not actual) intoxication is .08 in most states.
