Teen Drinking

I've been watching Friday Night Lights (short version: the best TV show ever made about the kind of person who used to beat me up), and the level of teen drinking is notable.  I'm no prude (though I was much more of a stoner than a drinker in high school), but all the teen drinking (and the teen drinking in other recent series, like The O.C.) has gotten me thinking.

Where are our beloved institutional scolds on this issue?  Surely the drinking age in this country is still 21?