When I was about 7 years old my family and I had gone to New York for my Uncles wedding. The man he was marrying was Jewish and after the ceremony they held a party in celebration of the marriage.
On special occasions Jewish families allow their children to have a small glass of wine. When the mother asked me if I wanted a glass of wine I quickly looked at my mom in a scared look because I didn't know what to do or say. My mom said no because she didn't think it was ok for a 7 year old to have any type of alcohol. The mother didn't understand why it was such a big deal but she was fine with my moms decision because of the differences in beliefs.
This incident reminds me some of the chapters in the book when one culture thinks something is ok to do, while another culture thinks negatively about it. It is interesting though to look at where these cultures come from because you can see the differences between the cultures and look at what kind of problems their culture faces. For example, in the United States the legal drinking age is 21. But in Europe the legal drinking age is much younger. As you look at these two differences, it makes you wonder, if the United States changed the legal drinking age back to 18 would there be as much under age drinking happening? Europe does not deal with these issues because it is not as much of an issue there. In the U.S. would there still be as many accidents involving under age drinkers?
Maybe we can learn from other countries by looking at their percentages of under age drinking and compare them to the U.S. If we notice a difference maybe we could change some laws and see if it does create a difference.
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