A Note About Drinking

I should emphasize that despite my celebration of "Repeal Day" (see below), I am still not a fan of public drinking. The TNR story I linked to describes this as the 'officially' reccommended celebratory practices:

There are no outfits to buy, costumes to rent, rivers to dye green. Simply celebrate the day by stopping by your local bar, tavern, saloon, winery, distillery, or brewhouse and having a drink. Pick up a six-pack on your way home from work. Split a bottle of wine with a loved one. Buy a shot for a stranger. Just do it because you can.

Because I am a religious Hebrew, I need to ask: why do people go to bars? I mean, I understand going to pubs... because in the UK those were often the 'public house' meeting place when the whole neighborhood would gather. A type of goyishe 'beit-knesset,' as it were.

The need for fellowship I understand and pubs served beer and food and had a big crackling fire, good furniture, and was generally a place to build a community.

But that doesn't seem to be what a bar is. I've been to only a few and they seem to be places where you drink alcohol, smoke, play loud music, troll for romantic hookups and/or throw darts at a porous circle hung on a wall.

The social aspects seem to be much lowered in modern America, and the emphasis is on the booze. So I ask: why do you go to a bar to drink alcohol when it's cheaper to buy a bottle of booze and drink at home?

That question will tell you a lot about what I know (and don't know) about what other people consider to be fun.