Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But it is. The argument has been an 18 year old mind is still developing so it's a bad idea to introduce alcohol. So I am asking how is it then O.K. to introduce a developing 18 year old mind to war? Seems to me that if we are saying they can handle war, surely they can handle alcohol.
Believe it or not, from the end of Prohibition until the late 1960s, only NY had an 18 drinking age, and the rest were 21, though some states made exceptions for certain drinks (a common one was that it was 18 or 19 for any beer that was 3.2% or less alcohol).
With a lot of the anti-draft fervor during Vietnam, it was argued that if 18 year olds are being forced to fight and die for our country, the drinking age should be 18. This same logic enabled the Constitutional Amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 in 1971.
Then in the 80s the pendulum swung back, states often first raised it to 19, then to 21, some went straight to 21. Some states had weird "grandfather clauses". My wife, who is two years older than I, saw it go from 18 to 19 when she was 18 in the state she lived in and went to college too at the time, then go from 19 to 21 when she was 20, so she "gained" and then "lost" the privlege for a year. Some states like Vermont got around this with weird grandfather clauses.......if you were born before Jan 1, 1968 the drinking age was 18, and after it was 21 (I "made it" by 3 months and lived (and was going to college) about 30 miles from that states' border at the time.....you can bet we made a lot of "beer road trips" back then......)
I personally think it should be 18 since most other things (again, fighting in the military, etc.) have 18 as the "coming of age".
But it is. The argument has been an 18 year old mind is still developing so it's a bad idea to introduce alcohol. So I am asking how is it then O.K. to introduce a developing 18 year old mind to war? Seems to me that if we are saying they can handle war, surely they can handle alcohol.
Not quite the same thing. War is psychological trauma (plus any physical injuries), which is different than the chemical effect of a substance on a brain that is still physically developing. The alcohol debate is about how significantly the substance may alter or retard brain development. The war debate is more about socialization and personal behavioral/emotional reactions.
Interesting . Here in Delaware the parents could be charged if someone reported underage drinking.
We're pretty libertarian out here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sade693
Not quite the same thing. War is psychological trauma (plus any physical injuries), which is different than the chemical effect of a substance on a brain that is still physically developing. The alcohol debate is about how significantly the substance may alter or retard brain development. The war debate is more about socialization and personal behavioral/emotional reactions.
You said it better than I could have. This is supposed to be a thread about alcohol, not any of the other things 18 yr olds can do.
Believe it or not, from the end of Prohibition until the late 1960s, only NY had an 18 drinking age, and the rest were 21, though some states made exceptions for certain drinks (a common one was that it was 18 or 19 for any beer that was 3.2% or less alcohol).
With a lot of the anti-draft fervor during Vietnam, it was argued that if 18 year olds are being forced to fight and die for our country, the drinking age should be 18. This same logic enabled the Constitutional Amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 in 1971.
Then in the 80s the pendulum swung back, states often first raised it to 19, then to 21, some went straight to 21. Some states had weird "grandfather clauses". My wife, who is two years older than I, saw it go from 18 to 19 when she was 18 in the state she lived in and went to college too at the time, then go from 19 to 21 when she was 20, so she "gained" and then "lost" the privlege for a year. Some states like Vermont got around this with weird grandfather clauses.......if you were born before Jan 1, 1968 the drinking age was 18, and after it was 21 (I "made it" by 3 months and lived (and was going to college) about 30 miles from that states' border at the time.....you can bet we made a lot of "beer road trips" back then......)
I personally think it should be 18 since most other things (again, fighting in the military, etc.) have 18 as the "coming of age".
Also the Draft age was lowered to 18 during WWII. Before that age was also 21. What happened was:
1. Lowered the draft age. Ok, cool more men available to fight.
2. lowered the voting age because the draft age was lowered. After WWII and because it is not fair to draft men to fight in an war they have no say over.
3. Lowered the drinking age because if they are old enough to fight they should be old enough to drink..right? Then drunk driving became an bigger problem as well as alcohol to younger kids.
Also the Draft age was lowered to 18 during WWII. Before that age was also 21. What happened was:
1. Lowered the draft age. Ok, cool more men available to fight.
2. lowered the voting age because the draft age was lowered. After WWII and because it is not fair to draft men to fight in an war they have no say over.
3. Lowered the drinking age because if they are old enough to fight they should be old enough to drink..right? Then drunk driving became an bigger problem as well as alcohol to younger kids.
Well, we haven't had a draft in sometime. The only way you get into the military is by volunteering.
Personally, if we had a draft, I think I'd limit it to those 21 years of age and older. Therefore, the problem concerning the drinking age is solved.
I'm more interested in the public safety issues than the loss of "rights" to teenagers who think they should be allowed to consume alcohol.
The problem is that "few beers" or a "glass of wine with dinner" doesn't play into younger people drinking, especially males. The most common drinking scenario then is drink until you're falling down drunk. Lather, rinse, repeat.
That's what usually being talked about with brain development. Also, the younger someone starts a behavior with an addiction potential (drinking, smoking) the more likely it is that an addiction with ensue. That's a combination of physical addiction and scrambling of the pleasure centers in the brain (mostly dealing with endorphin production).
I could post, oh, a couple hundred studies on both teen/early 20's drinking patterns and physical and brain development in that age group but it's too early for me.
You could post all the Prohibitionist nonsense you want. I was legal age at 18 and did go to bars or clubs occassionally with friends, none of us got loaded falling down drunk. Why? Because we knew we could stop in at any time and have a drink.
The problem now is that the 18 to 21 age group drinks in excess when they can get alcohol because its their only chance.
I have heard this brain development nonsence for years. I dont see a bunch of braindead people around who were able to drink at 18. In fact my university use to have a bar on campus and there never was a problem.
People who drink to excess are going to drink that way whether they are 18 or 21.
You could post all the Prohibitionist nonsense you want. I was legal age at 18 and did go to bars or clubs occassionally with friends, none of us got loaded falling down drunk. Why? Because we knew we could stop in at any time and have a drink.
The problem now is that the 18 to 21 age group drinks in excess when they can get alcohol because its their only chance.
I have heard this brain development nonsence for years. I dont see a bunch of braindead people around who were able to drink at 18. In fact my university use to have a bar on campus and there never was a problem.
People who drink to excess are going to drink that way whether they are 18 or 21.
No, that is not the reason! I've posted several links about the drinking problems in Europe, where the drinking ages are lower or non-existent. Teens have a habit of doing a lot of things in excess. You may think there was never a problem with this campus bar, but perhaps you should ask some of the profs. My daughter had a prof who had been a high school teacher. He said when MN (where she went to college) allowed 18 yos to drink beer, kids would come back from lunch drunk.
About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
