There’s a programme on Channel 4 right now called Amish: The World’s Squarest Teenagers:
This episode opens with a conversation between Amish and British teenagers about drinking. The Amish girl is interested to hear that the British teenagers, who play music not in honour of god in a band, then get drunk after their gig. In fact they’ve been drinking to get drunk since they were 14, which is normal for teenagers in Britain.
“Have you ever thought of starting a band that doesn’t get drunk, and delivering the message that it’s not cool to get drunk and abuse the healthy body that God gave you?” she asks.
Replied the British teenager: “No. Because getting drunk regularly is fun. It makes socialising easier and helps us relax. It’s a good laugh and there are nearly no bad consequences. I mean, you can feel quite ill the next day, but you soon get over it. And if you only do it for a few years while you’re young and enjoy yourself there are almost no long term bad effects. I drink regularly and I am still healthy and I feel fine. The chances of becoming addicted to alcohol are small and problems like these can be overcome. Almost certainly the benefits of drinking outweigh the costs.”
Except, no, of course he didn’t. What he actually said was, “that’s a pretty cool idea.”
So here we have a teenager who is holding two conflicting ideas in his head. He knows from personal experience that drinking is fun and mostly harmless. And yet when asked he will parrot the government and BBC line that drinking is unequivocally bad.
We are creating a nation of pathetic, guilt-ridden sheep who are unable to experience unadulterated the wonders of western capitalist decadence because they think they are being naughty and should apologise for it. Instead, these teenagers should be proudly proclaiming that their way is better.