Logical Or Not

[BullnaChinaShop]

I have not stated that the only way for the government to correct this inconsistency is to move the drinking age to 18. I just wanted people to talk about whether 18 is a proper age of adulthood and if not then what would be and why? I believe that at the age of adulthood that all adult rights and responsibilities should be available. Right now we have two different classes of adults, those who have all rights and responsibilities and those who don't. This inconsistency can be solved by either removing the restrictions from those adults without full rights and responsibilities, i.e. lower the drinking age to 18, or by raising the age of adulthood such that you only have one set of adults, i.e. raise the voting, draft, and etc. ages to 21.

I stated in my last post that I think a government contradicting itself undermines its own authority to some degree. That is why I believe this inconsistency on when one is an adult should be removed.

I would have much less of a problem with states choosing to have a drinking age higher than the federal age of adulthood if they legitimately made that decision without coercion from the federal government, but as it stands the federal government practically decided this issue for the states by threatening to withhold highway funds from the states that didn't conform.

[cmotherofpirl]

Personally I would like the voting age, legal age, driving age, and drinking age at 21.

[_bc]

I don't see why there should be just one age limit for anything. You don't get the right to buy alcohol as payment for being available for the draft: they are completely distinct issues. The age limit for the military should depend on when people can be expected to be mature enough for the military, while the age limit for alcohol should depend on when people are mature enough to drink. I'm not saying one limit should necessarily be higher than the other, just that they should only be equal by coincidence.

[cmotherofpirl]

I don't see why there should be just one age limit for anything.

You really don't mean anything do you?

[_bc]

You really don't mean anything do you?

I'm sorry, you have to remember that I'm a bit thick. That's why I make stupid errors like these. It's not even a typo, it's just that I can't speak properly.

Everything. That the same age limit should not neccessarily be applicable for everything that requires an age limit.

Edited August 6, 2003 by _bc

[cmotherofpirl]

bc I was only teasing, I do it all the time as well.

[Thomas Michael]

I can remember my sister being P.O.'ed at the law raising the drinking age. She turned 18 in 1983, but in Texas I think the legal drinking age was 19 at the time.

I side with those who think the drinking age should be lowered to 18. I mean, what magic moment happens between ages 18 and 21 that suddenly makes you worthy of alcohol intake? And please don't bore me with statistics. It's mostly the naive, uninformed people that are driving drunk or drinking themselves to death. If it were up to me, I would require mandatory alcohol awareness education for all high school juniors. Either that or have adults carry their own "liquor license" that you get only after passing an alcohol awareness test, that must be presented whenever you buy liquor, and can be revoked upon conviction for drunk driving or other alcohol-related crimes. Age restrictions to me are just a quick fix that are in slight danger of losing their effectiveness.

Until we can get the drinking age lowered (which I doubt since MADD is a really powerful lobby, almost as powerful as the NRA if not more so), all I can suggest for all the 18-year-old responsible drinkers out there is to move to a city bordering Mexico, such as San Diego, El Paso or Brownsville. At least they trust their 18-year-old hombres y mujeres with la cerveza.

Edited August 6, 2003 by Thomas Michael

[jasJis]

I can remember my sister being P.O.'ed at the law raising the drinking age. She turned 18 in 1983, but in Texas I think the legal drinking age was 19 at the time.

I side with those who think the drinking age should be lowered to 18. I mean, what magic moment happens between ages 18 and 21 that suddenly makes you worthy of alcohol intake? And please don't bore me with statistics. It's mostly the naive, uninformed people that are driving drunk or drinking themselves to death. If it were up to me, I would require mandatory alcohol awareness education for all high school juniors. Either that or have adults carry their own "liquor license" that you get only after passing an alcohol awareness test, that must be presented whenever you buy liquor,  and can be revoked upon conviction for drunk driving or other alcohol-related crimes. Age restrictions to me are just a quick fix that are in slight danger of losing their effectiveness.

Until we can get the drinking age lowered (which I doubt since MADD is a really powerful lobby, almost as powerful as the NRA if not more so), all I can suggest for all the 18-year-old responsible drinkers out there is to move to a city bordering Mexico, such as San Diego, El Paso or Brownsville. At least they trust their 18-year-old hombres y mujeres with la cerveza.

How young are you?

Give me a break, 'don't bore me with statistics'. We're supposed to value your unsubstanitated opinion over fact? And it's naive uninformed drivers that drive drunk? Says who? It's people with drinking problems that drive drunk. If it is naivety, who tends to be more naive? Younger people or older people?

At some point a generalization has to be made. Statistically, less 19 year old voters maim themselves then 19 year old drinkers. Statistically, less 19 year olds die in the military than die in alcohol related deaths. Sorry if that bores you.

[Thomas Michael]

How young am I? I turn 32 in four months, thank you very much.

And when I was in 8th grade, one of my classes was "Decision Making: Sexuality & Drug Abuse", where they touched on issues like sex, STDs, drug use, and yes, alcohol. We were tested on things like blood alcohol levels, peer pressure and the impact that drunk driving had on the victims' friends and families. That knowledge all got firmly entrenched in me, and for the most part I steered clear of alcohol until I was 21. I was able to make informed decisions on alcohol, sex and stuff like that at a young age. And I think a more well-informed youth would be better at controlling alcohol than an ill-informed youth that stayed ill-informed well beyond 21 years of age.

Almost a century ago, 18 years old was considered "mature". Back around the 1910's, people were getting married and behaving like mature adults at 18, sometimes even 16. Alcohol wasn't an issue until Prohibition kicked in around 1918. What happened to our society since then? A lot of men tend to act like immature boys well into their late 20's, and many women dress like "Girls Gone Wild" well into their late 20's as well. I say the "dumbing down" of our culture is part of the problem, so is slapping tighter age restrictions on certain things instead of better educating our youth and trusting them to make wise decisions.

Edited August 7, 2003 by Thomas Michael