Repeal The Drinking Age

[marquee moon]

http://time.com/72546/drinking-age-alcohol-repeal/

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act, passed by Congress 30 years ago this July, is a gross violation of civil liberties and must be repealed. It is absurd and unjust that young Americans can vote, marry, enter contracts, and serve in the military at 18 but cannot buy an alcoholic drink in a bar or restaurant. The age 21 rule sets the United States apart from all advanced Western nations and lumps it with small or repressive countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

Congress was stampeded into this puritanical law by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who with all good intentions were wrongly intruding into an area of personal choice exactly as did the hymn-singing 19th-century Temperance crusaders, typified by Carrie Nation smashing beer barrels with her hatchet. Temperance fanaticism eventually triumphed and gave us 14 years of Prohibition. That in turn spawned the crime syndicates for booze smuggling, laying the groundwork for today’s global drug trade. Thanks a lot, Carrie!

 

[ImTheCaptain]

what do we gain by eliminating the drinking age?

 

[bym051d]

what do we gain by eliminating the drinking age?

It's right to do. You can vote and join the military when you're 18, but you can't buy a beer.

At least lowering it. I'm not necessarily in favor of complete repeal.

 

[BobStackFan4Life]

Do away with it

 

[ImTheCaptain]

i really don't care, our alcohol culture is pretty whack anyway but I've always been amused by the "you can join the military but you can't drink!1!!!?!" argument. WGAF? we have an all-volunteer military.

if anything, the voting age should probably be increased to 21

 

[bym051d]

i really don't care, our alcohol culture is pretty whack anyway but I've always been amused by the "you can join the military but you can't drink!1!!!?!" argument. WGAF? we have an all-volunteer military.

if anything, the voting age should probably be increased to 21

It has nothing to do with volunteer vs. conscription. It has to do with being trusted to handle powerful weapons and defend our country, but not trusted with alcohol.

 

[DCDeac]

The environment in which an 18-year-old is handed a gun in the military is a little different than handing them a 5th of vodka in high school.

Not to mention kids shoot guns in camp at like age 12. Being trained to handle a weapon is a terrible litmus test for being able to responsibly consume alcohol.

Or does the overwhelmingly high level of responsibility shown by current underage drinkers instill that much confidence that it's not an issue?

 

[ImTheCaptain]

It has nothing to do with volunteer vs. conscription. It has to do with being trusted to handle powerful weapons and defend our country, but not trusted with alcohol.

*meh, what DC said

 

[ABCDeac]

Off topic, but slightly related: What are the pot-buying age restrictions in Colorado now that recreational use is legal?

 

[leftcoastdeac]

nvm

 

[scooter84]

19 is the perfect drinking age and that is what it was in NC for a while. That essentially gets it out of the high schools but most college kids could drink. I can't imagine going to college and having to worry about underage drinking!

 

[buckets]

meh, i don't really care

 

[faxmachineanthem]

21 just seems too old for me. And I've never been much of a drinker. But arresting a 20 year old for alcohol possession seems absurd to me, and I'm not a big fan of having laws that are not enforced or only enforced selectively.

 

[bym051d]

The environment in which an 18-year-old is handed a gun in the military is a little different than handing them a 5th of vodka in high school.

Not to mention kids shoot guns in camp at like age 12. Being trained to handle a weapon is a terrible litmus test for being able to responsibly consume alcohol.

Or does the overwhelmingly high level of responsibility shown by current underage drinkers instill that much confidence that it's not an issue?

It's not gun safety, I'm arguing. 18 year olds are given arms and ordnance, sent into war zones to use their best judgement to defend our country, losing limbs, and when they come back, they can't have a beer.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

so what?

 

[bym051d]

so what?

It's not right.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

well, i disagree. I don't think there's merit to comparing the two.

 

[CHillDeac]

Did the writer actually include this statement in the article? Un-fucking-real!


From my observation, pot may be great for jazz musicians and Beat poets, but it saps energy and will-power and can produce physiological feminization in men.

 

[tsywake]

21 just seems too old for me. And I've never been much of a drinker. But arresting a 20 year old for alcohol possession seems absurd to me, and I'm not a big fan of having laws that are not enforced or only enforced selectively.

I got busted on campus the weekend before my 21st. I was the only one of legal age that went through my underage drinking class.

 

[deacfan78]

http://time.com/72546/drinking-age-alcohol-repeal/

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act, passed by Congress 30 years ago this July, is a gross violation of civil liberties and must be repealed. It is absurd and unjust that young Americans can vote, marry, enter contracts, and serve in the military at 18 but cannot buy an alcoholic drink in a bar or restaurant. The age 21 rule sets the United States apart from all advanced Western nations and lumps it with small or repressive countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

Congress was stampeded into this puritanical law by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who with all good intentions were wrongly intruding into an area of personal choice exactly as did the hymn-singing 19th-century Temperance crusaders, typified by Carrie Nation smashing beer barrels with her hatchet. Temperance fanaticism eventually triumphed and gave us 14 years of Prohibition. That in turn spawned the crime syndicates for booze smuggling, laying the groundwork for today’s global drug trade. Thanks a lot, Carrie!

And income tax...