Prohibition was a failure in the 1920s and 1930s for adults, so I remain skeptical about teenage prohibition and well meaning initiatives to end use and abuse of alcohol by teenagers. Alcohol use and abuse is no different than any other lifestyle or health choice faced by both teens and adults, whether that is over eating and poor nutrition, smoking, choosing to have daily physical activity or not, wearing a seat belt, speeding or driving recklessly, connecting with our spiritual side.

Teenagers today are no different than teens 45-50 years a go. We had profound debates then about the drinking age, as it was 18 in New York where I lived, and 21 in neighboring states like Connecticut. Of course, we felt we had a right to drink at 18, since we could vote, be drafted, sign contracts, acquire debt, and have other semblances of being adults. We discussed merits of American versus European approaches to and attitudes toward alcohol consumption, most notably, that in France and elsewhere alcohol like wine was an accepted part of family and social life from an early age.

Our parents then like parents today tried to educate us and inform us about the dangers. The emphasis in my own family was on learning to drink like a gentleman or a lady. It was understood that you might have a problem if you drank alone, had a drink before Noon, or drank to excess. Drunkenness was not tolerable. However, it was also understood, perhaps subliminally, that alcohol was a comfortable and warm social lubricant, the center of family and social life. Our family of five, for example, always ate breakfast and dinner together as a family. Dinner was preceded by family time discussing the day, Mom and Dad having a cocktail, and the three of us with our soda.

As with results of the recent sting in Greenwich, those of us intent on acquiring alcohol, usually beer, found a way to get it. With a drinking age of 18, it was easy to pass as old enough to make a purchase. A fake or altered ID, such as a drivers license, was had for the asking. The fear of getting caught just added to the allure and excitement of drinking, as did going to our favorite off limits bar, Mikes Log Cabin, for steak, unreal fries, and a substantial numbers of Buds. Like teens today, we were unaware of our mortality, did not understand or accept the likely consequences, and believed we would live forever, or what then seemed like an eternity.

Were there severe consequences? Absolutely. During the Spring of my junior year when I was 16 years old, a one-car accident on a rural back road took out, killed, four of our classmates. All four died instantly. The cause was driving under the influence of alcohol. In short, they were DRUNK. The description in the paper of the trajectory of one victim and his face being removed as it slid along the rough paved road haunts me to this day. Of course, we all believed that it could not and would not happen to us. Perhaps they were a rough crowd or excessive in their drinking, unlike ourselves.

Did we learn? Slow down? Change behavior? No. In the Fall, two more class-mates were killed when they failed to make a curve and smashed into a tree. The site of the crash was within several blocks of my home. It easily could have been me. To this day, you can see the mark on the tree, the missing bark, where the car hit and these two boys lives were snuffed out. The result? Six lives were lost in the span of six months or so with a class size of just over 200.

I would like to be able to say that things changed, that we became more aware and less risky in our choices of behavior. But that was not the case then, nor perhaps will teenage human nature ever change. Our coming to year end, graduation and prom parties were beer and alcohol fueled. We drank. We drove after drinking, as did our parents then and as do parents today. The concept of designated driver did not exist then. Despite the hype these days, I do not see many adults forgoing just a drink, perhaps two, and taking on the responsibility of not having a drink, not even one, before driving a car. If we wont be role models, we cannot expect model behavior. Do as I say, not as I do, is never a prescription for influence and success.

I do not have an answer. I do know that three out of ten of us never have a single drink in a lifetime. I know that one out of ten of us is alcoholic. That latter ten percent, no matter what we do, will drink to excess. That is normal for an alcoholic. To recover and abstain from drinking is what is abnormal for the alcoholic. I know that teens 4,000 years ago and teens today have the same issues and same challenges. Positive, healthy lifestyle choices are not easy, require commitment and discipline, and for teens, it would be useful to have parents as role models, in addition to teachers, coaches, ministers and others. The next time you turn the ignition and start your car after having had one, just one, understand you are part of the problem.