No Alcohol Until 21

In the dossier for the current edition of Zeit the theme is rules: Does Germany have too many ordinances, regulations and prohibitions? Here correspondents report how the situation with rules looks in other countries. Episode 1: U.S.A..

In nearly all U.S. states, young people are first allowed to drink alcohol at the tender age of 21. They may, however, go to war and die for their country at the age of 18. This strict alcohol rule leads to absurd consequences: Schoolchildren meet after school in the basements of their parents’ houses to binge drink, and as soon as they go to college they go wild and drink themselves senseless. Not uncommonly, this also leads to sex parties, which get out of control and lead to rape. More than 100 college directors have for that reason advocated lowering the drinking age.

A couple of years ago, a mother in Virginia was indicted. Her crime: She allowed her son and his party guests, all over 16 years old, to drink beer. As a precaution, she collected all the car keys in advance, so that nobody could get behind the wheel. The parents of a guest pressed charges against her later for “contributing to the delinquency of a minor.” After multiple negotiations, she came away with a fine and suspended sentence.*

One night at 3 a.m. I got a call from my daughter with the plea to come right away. She was at a party given by an Argentine diplomat’s son. It took place in the garage, and the neighbors had called the police. Fourteen young people had shared five cans of beer. Except for the diplomat’s son and my daughter, all the other guests had hidden under the beds in the house. I convinced the police officers that five cans were no cause for alarm. They were about to drive away when the diplomat father rushed out of the house and complained furiously that the officers had entered the garage without a warrant. This was, however, diplomatic terrain. The officers coolly replied that it was now a state affair and the Department of State must be notified. The consequence: All personal data was recorded and the minors who were still reachable had to undergo an alcohol test. Luckily, my daughter’s result was negative.

Weapons Allowed for Nearly Everyone

Weapon ownership is regulated completely differently from state to state, but in general according to federal law handguns and their ammunition may only be sold to people who are at least 21 years old, but sporting guns and ammunition in part may already be sold to 18-year-olds. Eighteen-year-olds may nevertheless own — though not buy — handguns if they, for example, receive them as gifts, inherit them or borrow them. With parental and governmental permission even younger people can own weapons, if they fill specific roles such as being the only “man” in the house, work in agriculture or live in a remote location.

In general, it is only allowable to shoot at another person in self-defense or for emergency assistance. No one is allowed to follow the attacker or hunt them. And, when there is another way out of an emergency situation, everyone must choose this way. However, in many states there is the so-called “stand your ground” law. On this principle, nobody must run away from danger. Instead they may follow, hunt and play sheriff. This law stood at the center of the Trayvon Martin case. In the state of Florida, the unarmed youth was shot on his way home by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted because of this law. Just recently an exchange student from Hamburg was shot in Montana because he wanted to steal a beer from an open garage in the neighborhood on a dare. In this state there is a law which, in the style of the so-called castle law, allows the defense of house and farm with a firearm.

Driving Is Freedom

There are different traffic rules from state to state. Thus, until a little while ago it was allowable to send text messages or to make calls on a cell phone while driving in Maryland, but not in the capital Washington, D.C., although the city changes over to the neighboring states Maryland and Virginia without a marked border. The danger of accidents due to texting and telephoning at the wheel strongly increased, and is further increased by the fact that only seldom is there a requirement that drivers remain as far to the right as possible. Everyone may drive and pass in any lane. Distracted driving for this reason often leads to collisions.

One does often read warning signs and appeals with “Pedestrians are our priority!” but in real life, pedestrians in the U.S. count for nothing. Since one may turn right on red here almost anywhere, pedestrians wait out of fear of being run over, mostly, of course, in spite of having a green light. Pedestrians give thanks when a car does in fact stop, or they run like hunted hares over the pedestrian crossing. Their fear is not unjustified. I have often experienced car drivers nearly driving over my feet.

The fault for this lies with bad driver education. Nearly everywhere in the country, parents sit next to their children — it is possible to get a driver’s license at 16 — and practice. Naturally, they have no brake pedal on the passenger side and often no hand brake in the middle for emergencies, since this is often an extra foot pedal on the driver’s side. The practical driving exam is laughable; in most states, it takes place at a practice area at the Department of Motor Vehicles — without car traffic!

In order not to discriminate against anyone, the driving test may also be taken in Spanish. Some do not know a word of English — and because of that cannot read the traffic signs, which are mostly not bilingual — for example, the written prohibition on many stoplights against turning right on red.

We Germans, however, had to redo our driving licenses here — theoretical and practical. The theory test included memorizing the laws, which describe exactly what happens when one is caught with alcohol behind the wheel as a 16-year-old. Besides this, we had to take an alcohol and drug course that was mostly composed of tragic reports from accident victims and their loved ones.

Generally, when driving, no alcohol may be in the vicinity of the driver — unless in firmly corked condition. Recently my wife and I were in Virginia and drank a glass of wine each, which is permitted for drivers. Since the bottle was only half empty, we took it with us. The waiter packed it in a brown bag, since nearly everywhere in America alcohol may not be carried openly on the street, but instead must be out of sight — as if everyone did not know by now what is in the brown bag. Besides that, the waiter pointed out to us that by the laws of the state of Virginia we had to store the open and only loosely corked bottle in the trunk. The back seat was not enough, since the driver could still reach the bottle with his arm from the driver’s seat.

A further problem is age. There is no law here that stipulates that after a specific age, one must prove one’s fitness to drive, or even one’s ability to see. This is connected, on the one hand, with the lack of public transportation. Old people would be largely immobile with stricter driving laws.

On the other hand, it is connected to the wide American concept of freedom, which incidentally is invoked against the seatbelt mandate, which by now is in force nearly everywhere, and against the phoning and texting prohibition, which for a long time has not been in force everywhere. At the entrance to my apartment building, I saw a caregiver heave the upper body of an old woman who could barely still walk behind the wheel, then shove her legs behind. My God, how could she ever be able to quickly step on the brake?

Nakedness and Talking about Sex Are Frowned Upon

In America, a disproportionate amount of minors still becomes pregnant. However, even in areas as liberal as Washington, sex education classes may only take place when parents agree to them in advance. In some cases, parents may excuse their children from these lessons.

In our younger daughter’s high school, there was a rule about being appropriately dressed. This included a prohibition against wearing spaghetti-strap tops. However, after school the schoolgirls dress themselves in such tight pants and low-cut tops that they could stand on the street in Hamburg’s red-light district. Here the decency mandate of the school and the reality afterward are far apart.

There is probably hardly any other country on earth in which nearly every second word is “fuck.” However, the media regularly sends a bleep when the word drops; the newspapers print instead an empty space or only the letter f. So the television broadcast of the winning rap at the Emmy awards is constantly interrupted by bleeps.

Many puritanical Americans also still have a problem with nakedness. In California, of course, prospers the largest pornographic film industry in the world. However, in Idaho a man was sentenced to prison because he ran naked through his garden. And even here in the liberal East, a man was brought up on charges because he walked around naked in his apartment and could be seen through the curtains by a neighbor.

Compensatory Damages Lead to School Cancellations

In no other country are such horrendous legal claims for damages imposed — and sums of millions paid. This has insane consequences: In apartment buildings and stores, there are signs everywhere warning of wet floors. Plastic bags sometimes come with the warning not to put them over your head, as this could have deadly consequences. At a doctor visit, one must work through a tangled mass of statements and disclaimers before one can see the doctor. Recently at the optometrist, my wife had to sign a statement, which advised her that he was only liable for damages to the lenses, but not for the frames, since these came from a different manufacturer.

The problem of liability also leads to frequent cancellations of school in the winter when there is snow or ice, since in this weather school buses get into accidents more quickly and children can hurt themselves getting on and off the bus. Our daughter’s school had its own hotline through which one learned early in the morning whether the buses were driving.

If a school bus stops and puts on its warning lights, all other automobiles must stop, not just those behind the bus, but also the oncoming traffic on the other side of the street. Woe to the one who doesn’t. At the beginning of our American experience, my wife, without any bad intentions, drove further in the opposite lane and had a penalty of nearly $600 slapped on her.

*This fact is not verified.