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I believe we should lower the drinking age to 18. The drinking age of 21 is inconsistent with other laws pertaining to responsibilities that the age of 18 holds.
Such as
-Ability to sign a 6-8 year contract with the military
-Getting bank loans and credit cards
-Being able to live on your own
-Signing leases for apartments
-Paying bills and taxes all on your own
-Being held completely responsible for all of you actions
-Being able to purchase Tobacco products
But after all of these various responsibilities that a 18 year old is deemed old enough to handle, you have to be 21 to drink legally?
What do you think about this?
I'm thinking that you must be very young. Those are all the reasons the very young site when they want to drink legally.
The only ones I have ever heard who think lowering the legal drinking age would be a good idea, are guys (usually between the ages of 16 and 21), and college presidents who are tired of policing for campus beer parties and tired of students living off-campus getting into trouble with the local law enforcement because of drunkenness and illegal drinking parties.
I think it should be lowered. I think, young people drink more when its "against law" for them to drink.
The more we shelter our children from things they are not allowed to have, the more they will want that illegal thing and will rebel. But if we exposed them to things like alcohol at a younger age, they will not abuse it when them become of age. Because its nothing new to them.
And I have to say its the argument that we all know, if they can serve in the Military, if they are old enough to be in the Military at 18, why can't they drink at 18?
I completely agree. I remember being a teenager drinking and most of the thrill is that you feel so "adult" because you're supposed to be 21, that and of course the thrill of doing something you're not supposed to be doing.
So, what if the drinking age wasn't the threshold of adulthood?- which is what it is by making the age so high. You are in fact saying, Nothing else is so important, or so vital to being an adult than being able to drink. You take it out of parent's hands because they can't teach their kids, they're in college learning how to drink by binging to excess with their friends.
How do we reverse this ridiculous psychological implication that adulthood = drinking?
Lower the drinking age to 15- or lower, or don't have one. Encourage parents to talk and show their kids how to drink alcohol responsibly. Get parents to pour their children an alcoholic beverage with dinner and teach them it's a drink and not a drug. If your Mom is pouring you a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, the coolness and "badboy" factor goes right out the window, and alcohol gets regulated to where it belongs..as a drink.
Last edited by Minathebrat; 02-13-2009 at 06:49 AM..
Reason: spell check!
The only ones I have ever heard who think lowering the legal drinking age would be a good idea, are guys (usually between the ages of 16 and 21), and college presidents who are tired of policing for campus beer parties and tired of students living off-campus getting into trouble with the local law enforcement because of drunkenness and illegal drinking parties.
Well, I'm a guy, but I'm 39 and I believe the drinking age should be lowered. It needs to be emphasized that drinking laws across the country mandate that those under 21 completely abstain from alcohol. Furthermore, parents can be criminally prosecuted for providing alcohol to their ADULT children in a controlled, home setting. That is complete garbage, IMO. We can't expect folks to abstain until 21 and then suddenly become responsible consumers of alcohol.
Perhaps a reasonable compromise is that we continue to forbid the sale and consumption of alcohol to folks under 21 at bars and package stores, but we allow adults 18-20 to consume alcohol in a home setting under the supervision of someone at least 21.
I completely agree. I remember being a teenager drinking and most of the thrill is that you feel so "adult" because you're supposed to be 21, that and of course the thrill of doing something you're not supposed to be doing.
So, what if the drinking age wasn't the threshold of adulthood?- which is what it is by making the age so high. You are in fact saying, Nothing else is so important, or so vital to being an adult than being able to drink. You take it out of parent's hands because they can't teach their kids, they're in college learning how to drink by binging to excess with their friends.
How do we reverse this ridiculous psychological implication that adulthood = drinking?
Lower the drinking age to 15- or lower, or don't have one. Encourage parents to talk and show their kids how to drink alcohol responsibly. Get parents to pour their children an alcoholic beverage with dinner and teach them it's a drink and not a drug. If your Mom is pouring you a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, the coolness and "badboy" factor goes right out the window, and alcohol gets regulated to where it belongs..as a drink.
Well, I'm a guy, but I'm 39 and I believe the drinking age should be lowered. It needs to be emphasized that drinking laws across the country mandate that those under 21 completely abstain from alcohol. Furthermore, parents can be criminally prosecuted for providing alcohol to their ADULT children in a controlled, home setting. That is complete garbage, IMO. We can't expect folks to abstain until 21 and then suddenly become responsible consumers of alcohol.
Perhaps a reasonable compromise is that we continue to forbid the sale and consumption of alcohol to folks under 21 at bars and package stores, but we allow adults 18-20 to consume alcohol in a home setting under the supervision of someone at least 21.
A better compromise would be to lower the drinking age and raise the age to obtain a license to 18. The problems we have are underage binge drinking and drunk driving. Make it harder for the underage to drive to get alcohol.
No. LOL But I fail to see the wondrous results from raising the drinking age in this country from 18 to 21 has provided. There are societies where drinking is not such an issue in teens, and they invariably are from those with a low legal drinking age, where it's no big deal..so guess what? It's no big deal and you don't have the ridiculous drinking stunts that you have here.
Making something "against the law" doesn't do anything but make it a desirable forbidden fruit. If it's not forbidden, a large part of the desirable goes away.
Unless you really want to terrorize a population into submission, making something illegal that people want is just going to produce undesired effects. Look how effective illegal drugs being illegal is.
I for one, would rather allow parents to teach kids when they're still at home how to live responsibility. It's part of my job. This includes proper treatment of alcohol.
I think grmasterb's idea is good too, and viable, but I think a lower age is more appropriate as some kids leave home at 18.
I'm also all for kb09's idea of raising the driving age. How ridiculous is that..give a 16 year old the ability to operate a car and the ability to kill themselves and others- easily (and often), but don't trust them to drink a beer! They might get drunk and throw up! Now that's insanity.
How about this:
1. Lower the drinking age to 10.
2. Lower the age of consent to 13.
3. Lower the teenage pregnancy rate.
4. Lower the teenage STD rate.
5. Lower the teenage DUI rate.
6. Lower the ......
..........wait, teenagers do not yet have a fully developed sense of judgement. Maybe those ideas are mutually exclusive. ... I bet they are. Let's ask my Grandpa. He's been around a long time and has seen a lot of problems in the world.
No. LOL But I fail to see the wondrous results from raising the drinking age in this country from 18 to 21 has provided. There are societies where drinking is not such an issue in teens, and they invariably are from those with a low legal drinking age, where it's no big deal..so guess what? It's no big deal and you don't have the ridiculous drinking stunts that you have here.
Making something "against the law" doesn't do anything but make it a desirable forbidden fruit. If it's not forbidden, a large part of the desirable goes away.
Unless you really want to terrorize a population into submission, making something illegal that people want is just going to produce undesired effects. Look how effective illegal drugs being illegal is.
I for one, would rather allow parents to teach kids when they're still at home how to live responsibility. It's part of my job. This includes proper treatment of alcohol.
I think grmasterb's idea is good too, and viable, but I think a lower age is more appropriate as some kids leave home at 18.
I'm also all for kb09's idea of raising the driving age. How ridiculous is that..give a 16 year old the ability to operate a car and the ability to kill themselves and others- easily (and often), but don't trust them to drink a beer! They might get drunk and throw up! Now that's insanity.
I see three things wrong with this:
The lower the age, the younger the drinker. If the age was 18, then it would be the 14 to 16 year olds thinking THEY are the ones getting away with what is reserved for the older kids. Besides that, 18 isn't so mature that they would use better judgement buying alcohol (beer OR liquor) for underage kids, 12, 14, 16 years old. 18 isn't responsible enough to give that privilege.
You say to make alcohol legal and it will eliminate the mystery and desirability. What about illegal drugs. Make them legal and kids AND adults won't want them anymore???? Yeah, right.
You are assuming ALL homes have alcohol in them and ALL families drink. It isn't part of MY job to teach my kid to drink. As a parent, it's my job to dissuade my kid from drinking altogether.
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