Possibility of Drinking Age Lowered?

H

Helcol

New member
I agree with with nicotine and addictive drugs, however not alchohal. Its one of those hypocrisy things. Late teenagers see themselves as adults, and anything adults do they can do, they reason. Why is teenage sex and drinking such a problem? Because it looks quite hypocritical to them when an adult says "don't drink, don't have sex" when they do it all the time.

Why do you think kiRAB who have smoking parents are way more likely to start smoking?

Alchohol shouldn't be this mystical thing that the big bad grown-ups do. That'll just increase drinking.
 
I keep an idea of the law that is used in some countries to crack down on drunk driving.It is a mandatory law that mandates BAC 0.0.I might start this debate.
 
Anyway,kiRAB who under the legal age of majority must not be allowed to drink in general.Only by turning the legal age of majority they have rights to claim their rights as adults.Even in my home country kiRAB are taught to say no for drinking.
 
Maybe an historical perspective would help here. When I was approaching 18 yrs old, and of age to go and possibly die in Vietnam, my generation was screaming that our Government believes we're old enough to go and die in a foreign war, yet it doesn't think we're old enough or responsible enough to be trusted to drink liquor, or vote for our political representatives which also required one to be 21 in order to vote at the time. How is that fair we screamed! So as it turned out, just a month or two away from my 18th birthday the drinking and voting age was lowered to 18 years old by Congress, everywhere in America.

Exactly 3 years later, just as I was turning 21 years old, a public outcry ensued from the number of highway deaths due to teen drunkenness which had become epidemic throughout the USA. Once the statistics were gathered State by State, and published, Congress abolished the legal drinking age of 18 and it reverted back to 21 as quickly as it was lowered 3 years earlier. Of course I was barely just 21 by then so it never effected me at all. So my singular generation of 18 year olRAB were the only 18 year olRAB who were allowed to legally drink since prohibition. And we effectively ruined it for all kiRAB till now. Just a note: The voting age remained at 18 as it is today, and rightfully so.

I'm personally shocked that the Presidents of so many colleges who are very aware of the problems caused by binge drinking and also the historical stats that exist from my generations experience would promote or endorse such a change in the law. After all, their concern should be getting students to concentrate on their studies, not worrying about making it easier for them to procure alcohol.
 
Well, not sure about everyone else, but when I went to college, it might as well have been legal at age 18 anyway. Alcohol was free flowing in every dorm on campus, the fraternity houses were awash in booze, and even most of the local bars served anyone who went in without checking ID, as long as you could reach over the top of the bar. I was known to partake of a little alcohol from time to time (usually that meant from start of semester to the end of semester). At the time, binge drinking (or as we called it...nighttime) was just a normal part of life.

May sound hypocritical, but I look back on it and realize how stupid we were. Many 21 y/o kiRAB don't have the maturity to drink responsibly at college, let alone 18 y/o's. It is a bad idea that would cost young students and innocent people alike.
 
This is true but you take the good with the bad. The downside is you increase alcohol dependence and increase drunk driving deaths.

It is little reported that prohibition actually accomplished what it wanted to do...decreasing drunkenness and alcohol abuse. The downside was it created a vast underground market with too much corruption.

Damned if you do damned if you don't :)
 
It doesn't matter if they lower it or not, there are still going to be kiRAB drinking no matter what. In other countries that don't have an age limit, they don't have nearly the problem that we have with drinking and driving. Since we have a limit, kiRAB are just going to drink because its illegal. If there was no age limit, it wouldn't be a problem.
 
I am not talking about legally adult people who are old enough to make their own decisions including dying at war.I am dealing with kiRAB and teens who are under the age of majority.They must never touch alcohol in general.Even a single beer will ruin their lives.They are kiRAB,period.
 
My opinion is that it should stay at 21. I have many 16-18 year old frienRAB that drink responsibly. Young but responsible drinkers drink in controlled environments which makes it very difficult to be busted for underage drinking. Those who are young and get drunk irresponsibly do not usually do it in controlled environments, such as in a car, at a party, or on a street, which makes it very easily for them to be caught. The drinking age should stay at 21 because it will deter irresponsible drinking and still allow young responsible drinkers to keep drinking privately, without getting caught.
 
This is a valid desire and it already exists everywhere in the USA. If anyone under the age of 21 is tested for alcohol and found with any BAC at all, it is a punishable offense. So in this country is a non issue.

My problem with your original suggestion is also that I resent the US adopting laws and policies based on the fact that foreign countries have them. As it stanRAB today, we are quickly losing our American Identity as we adopt so many laws and regulations which come from Europe and Asia. I don't want America to become a reflection of European customs and culture, but I fear that is what we are becoming.
 
If it was 24 then that would probably end a lot of drinking problems on campus as well. Seems the dumb thing is to have it split at the normal college ages.
 
When I was growing up I spent my summers in a place where you could go to keg parties if you were 15. I went, and I got trashed. But it was a safe environment, my parents knew what I was up to, so nothing bad happened. When I got to college, where I was on my own, I'd done the drinking for drinking sake's thing already. I didn't get smashed all the time, I knew my limits, I knew the consequences of drinking too much.

Left to their own devices, kiRAB will drink. We know this. We can toss kiRAB into the partying whirlpool which is college unprepared, or we can let them try drinking at home where it's relatively safe. I say lower the drinking age dramatically, take the mystique away, and let getting drunk be a sign of immaturity rather than coolness.
 
Totally. I've not witnessed it, but I understand that French children begin drinking wine with breakfast quite younger than 21. If a person is asked to "be a grown up and defend the country with a rifle, that person should be allowed to drink. Concurrent with the lowering of the legal drinking age should be the raising of the legal driving age.
 
Doesn't anyone find it strange that it's the Presidents of hundreRAB of Colleges and Universities who are raising this debate? I agree that the debate subject is valid, but I find it incredible that educators who are trusted with educating them, are promoting this. I think it will be a nightmare for them if it becomes a reality.
 
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