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According to Wikipedia "drinking age", the only other countries where it is 21 are Ukraine and a few Muslim countries, where for Muslims, it is illegal at any age. The lowest drinking age is 5 (yes, five) in the Isle of Man.
Next time you travel abroad, go around to the youth hostal and hang out with the European kids there. You'll be the life of the party. They roar with laughter when Americans tell them about life in this country, like how you have to work 5 years to get a second week of vacation, if you get any vacation at all. Show them your passport so they can regale themselves looking at the latest list of countries that you are not allowed to go to. It's hilarious being an American abroad. Get out a dollar bill and tell how much it's worth in real money. And the part where God has official US government recognition.
The set age is a state law, each state can move the age up or down, the minimun is 18. For P.R. is 18.
The federal government blackmails states into setting their ages at 21, because if they lower them, they lose a substatial portion of federal highway funds.
Is it possible that the high drinking age is a contributor to these? How many teenagers would stop drinking if the thrill of doing something illegal was not there?
Also, what makes a 20 year old different from a 21 year old?
what is different froma 20 year old, to a 21 year old? i don't kno. what is different from a 15 year old to a 16 year old, or a 17 year old to an 18 year old? it is just what the government thinks is the best way to aviod deaths and keep some people safe. ok, so some peoplet hink that the drinking age should be lowered to teach adults how to drink responsibly. did anyone ever think that that's what they were doing to get you used to being an adult before giving you the privalege of alcohol? being an adult doesn't always mean that you act like one. they want to make sure you're use to the idea that you are in charge of your actions before they give you an opportunity to mess up.
The set age is a state law, each state can move the age up or down, the minimun is 18. For P.R. is 18.
In Louisiana, where I went to college, there was a law saying that you can be 18 to drink, but you have to be 21 to purchase. This would allow us to go to bars at 18 and as long as we had a fake id (thanks to my mother for finding me mine) or a 21 year old friend, we could drink all we wanted. Some bars, if tended by the owner, were allowed to set their own drinking age, which was generally 19. New Orleans locals are so good at handling their alcohol that they seem to be worse when sober! It's such a part of the culture that binge drinking is much more common among the tourists and the college students from out of state.
Regardless, it's stupid that the government can tell me when I'm mature enough to drink. I was personally far more mature than many of my friends were and knew the consequences far earlier...some people I know are in their 30s and STILL act like high schoolers at a party. My old roommate played quarters on his 30th bday, I grew out of that game when I was 16. Now, I only drink high quality stuff, like good scotch or fine wine, and never to the point of being drunk. I attribute it to the fact that I was exposed to alcohol at a young age, and that my parents never said it was forbidden and weren't drinkers themselves.
In Russia it is usual by 21 year already stop to drink and there is a culture of drink since it is officially possible to drink from 18 years, and to buy it is possible and in 16 years!
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