First point — alcohol does infact create violent crime in America, something like 30% of violent crime is associated with alcohol, which rises to 66% when an intimate person is involved (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict_c.htm#alcohol). Prohibition is not the answer, but church groups were somewhat correct to assert "criminals" hung out at saloons.

Second point — it's not a battle between pursuit of happiness and righteousness. Binge drinkers, alcoholics, other drinkers are more happy than people who don't drink? Please quote stats on happiness scales before making that claim. Also, alcoholics self-report lower self esteem and higher levels of depression. Hemingway blew his brains out with a shotgun from depression, and many of the artists they quoted suffered from depression or killed themselves. Pursuit of happiness, are you sure?

Third point — The alcohol and tobacco lobby is very strong. So to just claim it's somehow just "American" to drink largely ignores strategic lobbying and advertisements from various lobbying groups and breweries to make beer a pivotal part of sports and nascar.

fourth — the article fails to realize beer was brought aboard ships because water would go bad and beer was fatty and filling. Clean, fresh water wasn't readily available. But, beer could be stored in barrels, ferment, and be filling for some time.

fifth — there's a big point you fail to realize that's separate from wet and dry, that is binge drinking made popular by our good friends at frats, sororities, and movies like "animal house."

Lastly, there's nothing wrong with drinking, just poisoning yourself until you have to vomit or pass out shouldn't be classified as admirable or a pursuit of happiness. Also, to challenge a popular notion, being able to swipe a credit card or hand cash to salesmen at a beer/wine/liquor shop doesn't make some anyone more "cool," "chill," "fun," and most importantly, "happy."