Why would the author of a nationally syndicated comic strip suggest drinking beer to my children (Beetle Bailey, Sept. 5)?

It is an ever-increasing challenge in modern society to steer my children away from the idea that substance use is a solution to problems. Imagine my shock when my 10-year-old son brought me the comic page asking for an explanation of Beetle Bailey. In the first panel, Sarge says to Beetle, “If it weren’t for beer and tennis, I couldn’t make it through the summer.” In the second panel, Beetle asks “How did you get through the winter?” to which Sarge replies, “Beer.”

I ask, who is the comic section for? Must I preview the comics before allowing my children to read them? Is there no sacred space left to childhood?

Brett Nobles, Norway