Drinking Age: Too young to drink but old enough to die
By 2004, the Government issued a Federal Drinking Age Limit of 21; the states most affected by this were the states of Texas ((which allowed young persons to drink if their parents were present)) and Louisiana ((which had a drinking age of 18.)). This has also been the source for many debates and discussions surrounding the topic of a person being old enough to fight and die for their country, but still too young to buy a six-pack.
18 vs 21
When we’re 17, turning 18, we think “This is it. I will finally be an adult.” But what you may (or may not) realize is that the only real benefits you get with being 18 are:
- You can now be tried as an adult if you screw up; no more slaps on the wrist.
- You can buy cigarettes, you can vote in an election and you can be drafted into a war that you could possibly die in, yet you can not buy a case of beer.
The only difference when you turn 21? You can now legally purchase alcohol.
European laws
In Europe, the legal drinking age is 16 years old. In Mexico, from what I hear, you can drink as soon as you’re able to see over the bar. America? 21.
Lowering the drinking age to 16 (or at least 18) would reduce the amount of alcohol related deaths. Here’s a question: Why do you think kids drink? Because you tell them they can’t. I’m not saying that reverse-psychology is the new way to go, but if you really think about it, it makes a little sense that introducing alcohol to a child and educating them properly on its consumption is a little better than saying “If I find out you’ve been drinking, I’m going to kill you.”
As humans, we learn from experience. Take drinking and driving. We’ve all seen the slides of the people who have been thrown through a windshield and landed face first into the oak tree on the side of the road. We’ve all seen the gruesome pictures of what can happen. So why haven’t alcohol related accidents stopped altogether? If showing what can happen (basically threatening, but we’ll call it “informing” to be productive) isn’t working, then what do you think will?
I’m not saying drink and drive. But theoretically, a person would be able to learn not to drink and drive by having a near fatal alcohol related accident than they would by seeing the images of an alcohol related accident as a bystander. “That’s not me.” “That would never happen to me.” “They shouldn’t have been drinking and driving.” All popular responses.
Education
You need to know how to handle alcohol before you jump into it. Who do you think would be able to handle their alcohol better: a newly turned 21 year old who has been told his whole life not to drink, or a newly turned 21 year old who has drank a few times? Take that same 21 year old and add years of steady introduction to alcohol counterbalanced with the appropriate knowledge of alcoholism, what it does to the human body, and so-on.
We as an American society make alcohol out to be such a horrible thing, but back pedal when it’s for our own good. Example? “A glass of red wine is good for you.” I’m not arguing that it isn’t good for you, I’m just pointing out the general hypocrisy of the message we’re sending. Or how about “Alcohol is good only in moderation”? Define moderation in regards to a case of beer, or shots at the bar.
Or how about the keg? That invention surely wasn’t intended for moderate drinking, which you can deduce by simply looking at the sheer volume of alcohol that can be put into it.
Moderation, tolerance, and the time before this
Moderation is key, based on your tolerance level, which builds over time. So why not start building a tolerance level early in life so you can hold your alcohol when it hypocritically becomes “acceptable” for you to drink in public.
My plan
- Lower the drinking age to at least 18. (If they are old enough to die, they are old enough to drink.)
- Gain an open mind to your child’s development; don’t have a can not attitude; have a can do!
- Monkey see, monkey do. If monkey gets burned, monkey won’t put his hand in the flame again.
- Proper education on alcohol (including how to handle yourself responsibly when drinking, knowing your own limits, and appointing a few non-drinkers to keep the keys so nobody drives or to drive somebody to a destination if they have been drinking) as well as an “Open Door Policy” to those who need to seek council with regards to alcohol.
- Common sense.
Until we can get our minds completely wrapped around the fact that our kids are going to drink and get stupid (as well as the fact that it’s our fault they are going to get stupid) then we can never truly hope to win the so-called War on Alcoholism.
Anything else?
If you’re old enough to obtain a Visa, and you’re old enough to drive, you’re old enough to see your way to Mexico and get drunk. (This would also lower the amount of tax dollars put forth to pay the law enforcement agencies to continue to uphold laws that are both hypocritical and nonsensical. I would rather you be out there fighting real crime than have you wasting 5 hours of your paid patrol to bust a couple of teenagers drinking a few beers.)
The what-ifs don’t matter – it’s all about the what-weres.