Suggestions defy good logic

Recipe for repetition: one or more independent organizations chartered by Congress; add many tax dollars; thinly spread silly and misconceived solutions to conceal common sense; simmer slowly into the press. Portions for 250 million citizens; but serves nobody.\nIn essence, that describes the latest such governmental snafu, according to a report issued by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council last week on the topic of underage drinking and how it can be curbed successfully.\nThe report recommends, among other things, that Congress and state legislatures raise taxes on alcohol (especially beer) and that advertisements, movies, television, music and videos be monitored and rated for pro-drinking messages.\n And, apparently, that we brush logic aside.\n In a society that declares citizens must be at least 21 to drink, there will always be underage teens wanting to consume alcohol because society hypes and exaggerates it. To some, there's something inherently exotic about it, and others less concerned with the intrigue will drink regardless because they simply want to. They have fun when they do it, and they don't care what the law says.\n Even the committee's chairman, Richard J. Bonnie, sounded less-than-optimistic.\n"This is a complex challenge … to reduce and prevent underage drinking in a society in which drinking is common among adults," Bonnie told The Associated Press.\nRaising the taxes we have now won't shave off underage drinking and does nothing but transplant the burden to the majority of drinkers, those who are legal. According to the AP, federally, Americans pay state taxes of $2.14 per 750-milliliter of 80-proof spirits, 33 cents per six-pack of beer and 21 cents per bottle of wine.\nIn spite of the price, young people desperate for alcohol are desperate enough to pay whatever price thrown at them.\nThe report plays the blame game, shifting the responsibility to the economy and entertainment industry instead of to the home and schools. Will we ever be likely to see a report that recognizes alcohol is, for better or worse, part of our culture and we have a responsibility to attempt to address it realistically?\n"Teaching about responsible use does not require student consumption of alcohol any more than teaching civics requires that they run for office," said David Hanson, Ph.D., a sociology professor at the State University of New York. "We teach students civics to prepare them for the day they can vote and assume other civic responsibilities if they choose to do so," (www2.potsdam.edu).\nTo drink underage is to break the law. But, we shouldn't be foolish enough to assume underage people will abstain. Because of that, we should educate early, promoting moderation as well as abstention, hold them accountable and de-mystify the mystery.\nWe're glad the report recognizes the need to change the way we view drinking. But we're not glad that it chose ineffective methods of doing more of what already doesn't work.