> but the median American really doesn't drink much - our Puritan values run deep.
For many of us, it's not about Puritanical values. We simply choose healthier behaviors.
It's true that the median alcohol drinkers in America doesn't drink much at all. The vast majority of alcohol is consumed by 10% of the population.
Drinkers tend to cluster with other drinkers, and non-drinkers tend to become less interested with attending gatherings that revolve around alcohol consumption. This can lead to misperceptions that either everyone is drinking a lot or no one is drinking much depending on which cluster you end up in. It's strange to hear some of my heavy drinking acquaintances insist that everyone drinks heavily, because that's what they see in their personal bubbles.
Binge Drinking is just having more than 5 drinks in a few hour time period, doesn't have to be everyday can just be occasionally. Its a pretty low threshold, compared to the article's top decile which you need to drink which is averaging above 9 drinks a day.
The parent is entirely wrong about it being puritan based. The US long ago lost its puritan influences as a primary. The US is a very different place today vs the 1960s or 1980s culturally. Puritanism is a small fraction of influence in the US at this point culturally.
The reason Americans drink less alcohol at the median, is due to how American populations are heavily distributed in housing developments, in suburbs, versus the higher density & primate cities that you see in nearly all of Europe. We gather less frequently European-style, we don't walk or bus or train nearly as much, so the majority generally avoids drinking & driving. In the US if you're going somewhere, the odds are high that you're driving to and from; drinking and driving is an incredibly high penalty risk to take now.
Anti-alcohol movements have been a feature of the US since the 1800s, I doubt a social historian would have difficulty drawing a line from the Puritans, to the Women's Temperance League to MADD. It's MADD's lobbying for laws against drunk driving that put the nail in the coffin of 1960's Mad Men style 3 martini lunches and 1980's high school ragers.
Most "American Values" are basically just puritan ethics. In America, you won't see someone sipping a beer on the subway for the same reason you see someone take take a 4 week summer vacation, or a nipple on TV. Most of the quirky values that separate us from western europe (like hard work, temperance, abstinence, etc.) can be traced back to our puritan roots.
Also nudity is a big thing. Sexy is used to sell many things, but nudity is viewed in very weird way from European perception. Violence is somewhat interesting too from same viewpoint.
> The US long ago lost its puritan influences as a primary...Puritanism is a small fraction of influence in the US at this point culturally.
Are you including the US' views on sex and nudity and the puritan work ethic in that? Sex and nudity in films will make them get an instant R-rating, but murder will only get a PG-13.
The puritan work ethic is the reason Americans work themselves to death and judge the poor: "They obviously deserve it because they must not work hard." It's obviously circular reasoning, but "not working hard" is a moral failing in the US.
Mine came from feeling like junk even after 1 beer/wine/cocktail the next day. I experimented with thinking it was an allergy to grains, allergy to hops, wine quality - but I think it's just alcohol.
I'm not sure if you're serious with both your arguments here: Americans obsess with their health? They have one of the highest rates of obesity globally ...
Likewise, how does this have anything to do with religion (Puritanical heritage)?
For many of us, it's not about Puritanical values. We simply choose healthier behaviors.
It's true that the median alcohol drinkers in America doesn't drink much at all. The vast majority of alcohol is consumed by 10% of the population.
Drinkers tend to cluster with other drinkers, and non-drinkers tend to become less interested with attending gatherings that revolve around alcohol consumption. This can lead to misperceptions that either everyone is drinking a lot or no one is drinking much depending on which cluster you end up in. It's strange to hear some of my heavy drinking acquaintances insist that everyone drinks heavily, because that's what they see in their personal bubbles.