I think you've oversimplified the legal situation here. Many states' laws do allow parents to give their children alcohol, but they may also allow the parents' practices in this regard to be considered as a factor in finding that they are unfit parents, which is a determination that should be made by a formal hearing, considering various evidence.

This may seem kind of bizarre, and perhaps the criteria in many states need to be made clearer and more objective, but it's not an inconsistent position. In many contexts the law allows parents to expose their kids to different kinds of risks, but if the overall amount of risk is considered too high, then the parents' fitness may be questioned. In the alcohol context, a judge might consider that letting children drink at meals in their parents' presence was not unfit parenting, but knowingly allowing the children to drink every day without any supervision was.

The state I'm currently in has no such exception. It is illegal for both the parent to supply and the child to consume alcohol at home. Both can be arrested.

This is true for several states.

Whenever I've gone to a beer hall in Germany the only super drunk people were American college students. It's really a shame, and you are absolutely right: We Americans are going the wrong way with this (and have been for decades).

My middle son turned 21 (legal drinking age here in the US) a couple of weeks ago. He never drank at all as a "kid." You couldn't give him a glass of wine at a holiday dinner, or a beer to watch a ball game or anything. Neither myself nor his mother were a part of his birthday celebration. I was honestly quite worried that he would be out with friends and have his first experience go horribly wrong. He has no idea how it will affect him. (Thankfully all turned out ok).

In Wisconsin, at least:

> Can an underage person possess and consume alcohol beverages on licensed premises?

> Yes. Persons under age 21 may possess and consume alcohol beverages if they are with their parents, guardians or spouses of legal drinking age; but this is at the discretion of the licensee. The licensed premise may choose to prohibit consumption and possession of alcohol beverages by underage persons.

https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-atundrg.aspx

This site has a good summary[0] of Wisconsin, and in general I think Wisconsin's drinking laws are very sane.

But contrast it with Utah[1], Arizona[2], Kansas[3], North Dakota[4], Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania or Vermont.

[0] https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/APIS_State_Profile.html?...

[1] https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/APIS_State_Profile.html?...

[2] https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/APIS_State_Profile.html?...

[3] https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/APIS_State_Profile.html?...

[4] https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/APIS_State_Profile.html?...

Yeah, seriously...on a ski trip with my father in Vermont when I was a high schooler, I could not even CARRY A BAG with beer in it between the store and the car.

It boggles my mind that outside my small social bubble, people around my age (23) spend their whole weekends drunk. I'm not out to stop them and I accept their choices, but I wonder if it's also a result of our alcohol culture. Most people can't seem to enjoy just one or two beers.

I'd rather be drunk with them than hang out with you and risk falling off that high horse.