Own that beer. Even if it's not green.

On this St. Patrick's Day, I find myself thinking of Michelangelo Antonioni.

The Italian writer director of films like "L'Eclisse," "Blow Up" and - my personal favorite of his films - "The Passenger" said that "Eros is sick." We do not have a healthy relationship with eroticism, generally speaking. We're puritanical. "Eros is sick" means that we're ashamed of our desires and instincts, and so we sublimate them into, say, Slutty Fill-in-the-Blank Halloween costumes. We can't admit that we like to be wanted, so we conform and blame whatever happens on the very convention to which we're conforming. This is why beer pong exists. ("I would NEVER have had that much to drink, but I just kept missing the cup, so... shrug.")

I don't really observe St. Patrick's Day. I'm not Irish, I'm not Catholic, and so I don't really feel obligated. As I've written before, I would feel like a poser if I claimed this holiday since it's not part of my heritage. I would also feel disrespectful to Irish culture if I claimed this identity for myself. Actual Irish people would be perfectly justified in kicking my bandwagon ass.

Which brings me to beer. And back to Antonioni.

I'm not Irish; my family is Scottish and German. My ancestors in this country were brewers, distillers and tavern keepers. We're a family where everyone typically has a glass of wine or beer with dinner, and maybe a couple if we're celebrating and no one has to drive for awhile. Drinking has never been something that one had to "get away with" in my family. Drinking isn't an act of subversion. So I don't understand why anything is an "excuse to drink." Why do you need an excuse to do something that no one cares if you do anyhow?

So, it's bizarre to me that this one day - at least in the U.S. - has turned into an excuse to raise hell. It hasn't happened organically, for one thing. St. Patty's is just as commercialized as Valentine's Day, and I don't appreciate cultural cues from anyone with a profit motive. I also find the "Irish=let's get hammered" mentality a little insulting. I mean, this is the patron saint of the country we're talking about here. (The guy who rid Ireland of pagan rituals... wonder what he would think about the celebration of his saint day?)

If you need a corporate-approved ok to have a beer, then in my opinion you don't have a healthy relationship with alcohol. (And frankly, alcohol deserves better.) You probably also have some serious issues with your self-image, not unlike the slutty Halloween-costumed girls. You're one alcohol-poisoned little lemming.

Do want to get drunk tomorrow? Would you drink a green beer on April 27? Okay. It's a free country. But own it. Don't blame the day.