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Speaking as someone who turned 21 just a few years ago, I absolutely think the drinking age should be 18. Aside from the principled stand of "if you can die for your country, you can have a beer," it makes sense on a practical level. Essentially it goes like this:
Underage drinking = binge drinking.
Of age drinking = drinking in moderation.
Now, I'm not saying that people over 21 don't get drunk, or people under 21 can't just have a beer while watching the game. I'm also not saying that if we lower the drinking age to 18, college students will put down the Jaagerbombs and start sipping fine wine. However, the psychological impact of "Wow! We got into the bar! Let's get tanked!" is real, and I've seen it. If drinking is legal for 18-year-olds, it will be more of a normal thing and, as such, there will be less of an impulse to do it to the extreme. Bans on vices many times encourage abusing those vices, rather than dabbling in them. Clearly, the latter is preferable.
I recall reading an op-ed some time ago by a college president who favored lowering the drinking age. I wish I could find the link.
Speaking as someone who turned 21 just a few years ago, I absolutely think the drinking age should be 18. Aside from the principled stand of "if you can die for your country, you can have a beer," it makes sense on a practical level. Essentially it goes like this:
Underage drinking = binge drinking.
Of age drinking = drinking in moderation.
Now, I'm not saying that people over 21 don't get drunk, or people under 21 can't just have a beer while watching the game. I'm also not saying that if we lower the drinking age to 18, college students will put down the Jaagerbombs and start sipping fine wine. However, the psychological impact of "Wow! We got into the bar! Let's get tanked!" is real, and I've seen it. If drinking is legal for 18-year-olds, it will be more of a normal thing and, as such, there will be less of an impulse to do it to the extreme. Bans on vices many times encourage abusing those vices, rather than dabbling in them. Clearly, the latter is preferable.
I recall reading an op-ed some time ago by a college president who favored lowering the drinking age. I wish I could find the link.
There needs to be one age where you are an adult in the eyes of the law, for voting, military service, entering into contracts, and drinking. I do not understand how someone can be an adult for one thing and not for another. If we want to make 21 the age for everything, then let's amend the Constitution and pass the other laws.
The argument about drunk driving is a silly one. The answer isn't to raise the drinking age, but rather to increase the penalties and enforcement for DUI. If we take a zero tolerance policy for first offense DUI, revoke licenses of second offenders, and take a 3 strikes and you go to jail policy, then it will start to make a difference. There are many other steps that can be take to stop DUI at the source. When I was 18, the age was 18 in my state. I didn't do anything any different than when I was 21.
I hate to invoke the Europeans, but they allow kids to drink as young as 16 and have very stiff penalties for DUI. They do not have the same issues as we had/have with DUI.
Back in my day, we had this rediculous 3.2 bar law. So you could go to a 3.2 bar and drink this garbage, then when you leave, finish off the night with the good stuff. When I was 16, I had a fake ID that said I was 18 and it worked. When I went to NY City, I was going to [edit] regular bars with my cousin.
There's a couple of issues I'd like to address here as well.
First of all, there are 3 types of drinkers.
A) Social or moderate drinker. He's having a drink; social I. Or the moderate drinker, "I'm feeling a buzz. I don't like this out of control feeling. I think I'll stop." They are weird people. They can drink 1 and a half beers.
B) Hard drinker. They like to get drunk. They can drink with the alky drink for drink. They might binge and die drinking out of a beer bong. They might develop a bad drinking habit while in the services. But given a sufficient reason to stop or moderate their drinking, they do.
C) The real alcoholic. They can't control the amount they drink once they start. They can't stay stopped on their own for any length of time, regardless of the consequences.
Alky's make up about 10% of the population. Some cultures have a very high rate of alcoholism compared to others, but given a long enough length of time the alky's die off and it gets down to 10%. For example, the Jewish and Italian cultures have crushed grapes for 7500 years. They have a very low amount of alcoholism. Many European cultures have been drinking for about 2500 years and they are easing towards that 10%. The Europeans came over to the New World and brought the distilled spirits with them-the hard stuff (Irish and Scottish) and when the Native Americans and Eskimos got a hold of this, they were off and running. They've only been exposed to it for 300 years! They will have a very high rate of alcoholism for some time to come. But in the end, 10% will remain? Why? I don't know. God likes alkys for some reason. (Solomon made references to the alky. I think Noah and Socrates were possibly alkys)
You can't make yourself an alky. You can't make yourself a non-alky. It's like trying to turn a pickle back into a cucumber.
Non alkies can get DUIs. Alkies don't always get DUIs. Some do. Culture may play a part. I don't know.
Now here's another issue. Drugs. Can't get booze, how about weed, speed, Vitamin A, Pharmaceuticals, Meth, etc? What's the worse of two evils?
My parents had a bit of a drinking problem themselves, so they kind of hid it from us. I got smashed at 10. And I was proud of it. I'm sober now for going on 5 years, so I'm the guy who can't "handle" his booze. I wasn't much into drugs compared to alcohol. I took drugs to try to control my alcohol. As bad as alcohol is and the dangers of it, it's a lot more dangerous to be into drugs from a legal standpoint. You've got to buy it. You have to deal with a dealer vs. a bartender or a liquor store clerk. But that doesn't stop these kids, does it?
I don't know what the stats are on fatal car crashes. This might be something to consider. Let 18+ kids drink, but if they do maybe a mandatory breathalyzer thing to start the car until they turn 21 could be in order.
I don't know what's best. I've got me to take care of. Many will become statistics or a big part of the Industry that is Alcoholism. It's the American Way.
Wesside: I didn't vote on the poll yet, so ... I did notice that one of the selections is I don't know/care. I may fit into that category. I was 17 when I graduated high school; 3rd in my class, National Honor Society member for 3 of the 4 years, Gold Cord, yada yada yada... and I almost drank myself to death at least 5 maybe 7 times in my high school years. Who was gonna stop me?
Last edited by McGowdog; 08-19-2008 at 10:44 PM..
Reason: flashforward to wesside: Thousands of years ago, into the future...
By this standard, 18 year old highschool kids can get alcohol anytime. For those who voted to lower it, think long and hard about this one.
I just did. I realized that most 18 year old high school kids can get alcohol anytime anyway. We aren't talking about legalizing burglary here.
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