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I have to say that my prejudices against the Nanny State come into play here.
Whenever I see a regulation like this, I ask the question: "Excuse me, but when it comes to the choices of an adult, how is this your business?"
You can talk all day long about the developmental effects on eighteen-year-olds as opposed to twenty-one-year-olds. But nobody talks about the developmental effects of being shot on patrol in Iraq.
We question the judgment of 18-year-olds to handle alcohol, but we don't question the judgment of 18-year-olds in the voting booth.
An 18-year-old can buy a firearm, but he can't buy a six-pack of Bud. Which is more dangerous?
An 18-year-old can sign contracts, have credit cards, be prosecuted as an adult, and any number of other things. But she can't be allowed to have a glass of chardonnay?
Here's the thing. We have, as a society, really done an unpardonable thing to young adults in this country: We have pushed back the age when they are considered to be adults. At age 18, it used to be considered that you were a man, and could shoulder the responsibilities of being a man. Today, most people believe that adolescence ends around the age of 26. So when an 18-year-old acts unwisely, we really take on part of the blame by not having any expectations of him in the first place.
So, if its drunk driving you're worried about, then impose draconian enforcement on that issue. But if you consider an 18-year-old an adult in every other sense, then it's not your business what he elects to drink on his Saturday night.
I say keep it at 21, because I really don't want to be hanging out at bars/clubs with a bunch of 18 year olds. Some 21 year olds act immature enough. (Im 26 btw)
When I was 18 (1983), you could purchase alcohol and hang out in clubs and bars. Back then, I remember a lot of the clubs had strict dress codes and you did not have a lot of the nonsense that you do today. We co-existed well with the "older set" very well. I do understand your point, though.
Well, I don't know about you..... but in my experiences, being an 18 year old girl once... well I won't go there. But, as far as meeting people and actually having intelligent conversations, atleast 21 year olds might have something better to talk about than Legally Blonde 2 and getting their nails done and what tanning salon they go to. I don't really see a huge difference in appearance between the 2 ages, Im still heavily carded when my boyfriend isn't and he's only a few years older than me.
Well, I don't know about you..... but in my experiences, being an 18 year old girl once... well I won't go there. But, as far as meeting people and actually having intelligent conversations, atleast 21 year olds might have something better to talk about than Legally Blonde 2 and getting their nails done and what tanning salon they go to. I don't really see a huge difference in appearance between the 2 ages, Im still heavily carded when my boyfriend isn't and he's only a few years older than me.
Well, to be honest with you, I've met plenty of vacuous 26-year-olds that fit your description to a T. I don't really think that there's an age limit on shallowness and stupidity.
What's more, the economics of things will dictate who shows up in what watering hole. By the time I was 26, there was no way you could have gotten me into some dive where they were mixing up Jello shooters.
Well, to be honest with you, I've met plenty of vacuous 26-year-olds that fit your description to a T. I don't really think that there's an age limit on shallowness and stupidity.
What's more, the economics of things will dictate who shows up in what watering hole. By the time I was 26, there was no way you could have gotten me into some dive where they were mixing up Jello shooters.
This is true but I repped her for her comment anyway because it is true that the younger the age group, the more they will shed their own opinions and values to "fit in." it's the herd mentality.
They should lower it to 18. If you treat 18 year olds as the adults that they are, they will act like adults. If you treat them like children and impose arbitrary restrictive rules on them, they will act like children.
Since an 18 year old is an adult by all other standards: tax purposes, legal guardian purposes, military service, etc., then they should have all of the other rights that adults do.
They should lower it to 18. If you treat 18 year olds as the adults that they are, they will act like adults. If you treat them like children and impose arbitrary restrictive rules on them, they will act like children.
Since an 18 year old is an adult by all other standards: tax purposes, legal guardian purposes, military service, etc., then they should have all of the other rights that adults do.
I say don't lower it to 18. Instead lower it to 13 or 14, accompanied by a massive cultural shift away from our irrational, paranoid, schizophrenic approach to alcohol.
There is nothing about turning either 21 or 18 that makes a person go from 100% incapable of handling alcohol to 100% capable. At either age, it's foolish and counterproductive to expect our children to learn the lessons of moderation and responsible consumption by forbidding them from ever drinking alcohol until they reach a certain birthday, at which point we turn them loose in bars and liquor stores and hope for the best.
Rather than letting our teenagers gain their first drinking experiences with no adult supervision and in conditions of dangerous peer pressure, responsible parents should gradually introduce their children to alcohol, starting first with a sip of champaign on special occasions to a full glass of wine or beer on special occasions to a glass of wine or beer with meals or at the occasional ADULT social event where there are mature adults who can model responsible, moderate consumption for teens. This task needs to be put back in the hands of parents where it belongs, and they should be able to do so without fear that they will end up in jail.
It's no coincidence that a society which no longer lets or requires their children grow up has now raised a few generations of overgrown adolescents.
I really think you hit the nail on the head. You can't legislate responsibility.
There's a way to weed out the problem drinkers from the non-problem drinkers, you know. This is what you do; you get a group of fairly young teenagers and put them in a hotel for a month. Feed them alcohol for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At the end of the month, 90% of the kids are gonna go running out of there. 10% will want to sign a 30 year lease. Then you provide recovery for those of the 10% that want it and let the legal system take care of the rest.
Alcoholism would be an innocent victimless disease like cancer, but it's not. Laws are broken, homes are broken, fights and abuse occur, people get hurt. Not just the alky. It's a tedious process. But I think the first thing that needs to be done is to separate the problem drinker from the non-problem drinker. If you break the law and go to jail or get sentenced to probation to stay out of jail, you tear up your right to drink and do drugs. Perhaps this helps the overall Machine that is alcoholism, but to put theives and rapists together with chemically dependent addicts or alkies... I don't know. How's that working?
Recovery isn't for people who need it. It's for people who want it. That I know for a fact. Those who don't want it, keep an eye on them and lock them up when they stumble I guess.
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