The French Dispatch, Vol. IV
As my good friends will tell you, I enjoy a good drink! Other than that time in Rotterdam which all parties involved agreed to never speak of again; I rarely drink to any serious level of intoxication. Just enough to relax and enjoy myself. I also genuinely enjoy the taste of certain alcohols (and I only consume drinks I like the taste of). You will never see me having beer (aka, cat piss).
The past two weeks of living in France has shown me how shockingly puritan America is when it comes to alcohol. Yes, the drinking age is 18 in France (21 in America), and yes you can buy hard liquor in just about any shop you can think of (NOT happening in Pennsylvania); but it goes much deeper than that.
In the mornings, in France, you will see people at their local cafes having an espresso or two to start the day. You will also see people having a glass of wine or a beer. Indeed, even the local indoor market in Avignon has a bar in it. If you did this in America, other than in an airport (which is a bizarre no-rules zone in America), you would be getting some VERY nasty looks. In fact, “brunch” was invented so that Americans could have booze before noon.
It’s a very different story in France. Drinking during ‘working hours’ is perfectly acceptable. It’s quite lovely to see coworkers share a bottle of wine on their two-hour lunch break. I would give anything for a more civilized two-hour lunch break!
Would this work in America? Absolutely not. People would get completely lit and stumble back to the office, or worse, get in a car to drive the 20 yards back to the office (French people walk to lunch and NEVER eat at their desks).
I believe the reasons for this are numerous and purely cultural. America is a ‘more, more more!’ Society; so responsible drinking is difficult to begin with. But, I believe it goes much deeper than that.
Alcohol is seen as something ‘naughty’ in America. It is truly a vice. In France it is just a drink to enjoy; nothing more, nothing less. I imagine that much of this comes from the Prohibition Era in America when alcohol was demonized severely by the religious right and the feminists.
The demonization of alcohol is not just a thing of the past in America. Go on social media and it has become a point of honour to not drink by the ‘CrossFit Hitler-Youth’ types. The Puritan Movement has moved from the pure in mind argument to the pure in body. I say “Non, merci”.
Interestingly, my French improves greatly when I have had a few cocktails. I think this is because it makes us less nervous. In other words, it’s not our lack of knowledge that holds us back, but our confidence in using said knowledge.
If you want to watch a fantastic, non-moralistic, take on alcohol in Europe, see “Another Round”. It has Mads Mikkelsen in it…
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