How Did We Canadians Get So Puritanical?

Oma drives us to a lake for a swim. Vanessa and Bettina are pleasantly amazed to learn that children are allowed to swim naked, and they gladly take the opportunity. Prepubescent girls swim with just trunks, and some of the women even walk around topless. (We're still talking about lakes here).  And no one seems to care. There is no ogling and no finger pointing. Why can't North Americans learn to be so easygoing, especially in regard to things that matter so little?

Europeans view nakedness from Adam's and Eve's perspective (before the apple): there is nothing shameful or dirty about it. You'll often see parents taking young kids for a tree-pee at the playground. Uncircumcised boys, letting it fly as nature intended. Our own kids take full advantage, and no one looks twice. It is as refreshing as it is relieving.

Alcohol and tobacco are viewed in the same spirit. Beer on the bus?  No problem!  Mixed drinks at the public swimming pool? No problem! And if you forgot to bring your own, there's a cash bar, right between the change rooms and the ice cream stand, where you can order yours. In Europe, beverages are beverages. There's nothing special about alcohol -- it's just another ingredient you put in, like Yellow 5.

The lackadaisical attitude toward smoking is just incredible,

especially for a culture that is otherwise so progressive, well educated, and politically invested in science. In terms of tobacco, Europe is about where America was in the 1970's. Cigarettes are still advertised on billboards and on TV, and they're available in vending machines where any kid can spend his allowance. I think it's their fast-food.
You'll see the occasional McDonald's here, but the #1 retail outlet in Austria is by far Tabak Trafik, a convenience-store chain famous for its wall-to-wall selection of cigarette brands.