Lower … the DRINKING AGE?!?!?
Man, are they SERIOUS?!?!
By now, you’ve heard that certain colleges want to lower the drinking age to EIGHTEEN! And why?? ‘Cause they wanna end “binge” drinking on their campuses! Now, how do they do that?? By makin’ it lawful for ‘em to get plastered at a younger age! (Ummm … is this makin’ any sense yet??)
Hey … it doesn’t matter if they’re 18 or 118 (well, that would matter! In fact, it’d be a miracle worthy of a guest shot on Letterman …): If people wanna binge drink, it doesn’t matter what the rulebook says: They’re gonna do it!
But college presidents from around a hundred U.S. universities (yep, including Duke!) are wantin’ lawmakers to cut the guzzle-age down. They say the laws that are on the books now actually encourage binge drinking on campus.
Ummm … HOW?? Is it the thrill of breaking the law?? Or is it because security and regulations are so lax at these schools that they can get away with it??
Oh … wait a minnit: “binge drinking” … “on campus” … are we hearin’ special-interest here? In other words (and correct me if I’m wrong), change the law so this or that specific school can benefit? What about high school seniors who are 18? Or drop-outs?
Look: Research has found more than 40% of college students reported at least one symptom of alcohol abuse or dependence. In fact, one study says that more than 500,000 full-time students at larger colleges suffer drinking-related injuries each year and about 1,700 die in alcohol-related accidents!
So whatcha wanna do — up the odds a bit?? Try this one:
Federal records show that 157 college-age people, including those under 21, drank themselves to death from 1999 through 2005!
Still wanna change the law??
Y’know, it’s crazy! I’ll be the first to admit that I usedta chug, drug and bug-out (been totally sober for 28 years now! Y’can thank my then-year-old son for that. Write me if you wanna know how …). I wasn’t a pretty sight when drunk (okay, okay … I’m not even when I’m sober. But at least now I can take it … lol). The effects of alcohol on a young person (I’m talkin’ about the psychological effects. You know the rest …) can … no, are (whether in short or long-run) devastating!
So, IMHO, there should be NO WAY that we pander to these colleges, risking the life-and-limb of innocent drivers, children, and others … just so their school won’t have their students doin’ some “binge drinking” on their campuses (psssst … it’s gonna happen anyway, so the “new law” wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans!).
I wanna thank a special person here: Years ago, I had the pleasure of communicating with HHS Director (now University of Miami President) Donna Shalala who served under President Clinton. She’s one of the most outstanding, genuine and child-safety-oriented people that’s ever held a government post! And, God bless her, she’s refused to sign this petition! She says (and we’ve gotta admit, she’s right!)
“I remember college campuses when we had 18-year-old drinking ages, and I honestly believe we’ve made some progress. To just shift it back down to the high schools makes no sense at all.”
One more thing: Is it just me, or does anybody else see some irony here?:
We’re tryin’ oh, so hard, through TV ads and local/state regs, to get our kids to stop smoking. We say it’s “bad for their health” or “they can die from it.” But …
WHY IS DRINKING UNTOUCHABLE??
I mean, I’ve yet to see a fatal car crash, a woman beaten or killed, a child hurt … just because someone had “too much to SMOKE!” No, it’s they’ve had “too much to _____” (fill in the word)! So why not protect the kids from that??
Yes, smoking can kill you — over time. But drinking?? It can be instantaneous!
Giving the 18-year-olds the right to drink is like puttin’ a gun in their hands and askin’ ‘em not to pull the trigger! If anything, there’s a crying need to discourage that.
Let’s hope the lawmakers decide against these “special-interest” colleges …
for the kids’ sake!
August 20th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I think your arguments are emotional and flawed. You seem to think that since people binge drink today, they will do it no matter what. That sentiment is not only counterproductive to seeking a solution, but ignores the entire argument being made by the university presidents’ initiative.
Legal Age 21 is a legacy of the prohibition - the USA is unique in this restriction (save for counties such as the UAE perhaps..). Rather than raising our youth to understand alcohol, society teaches them that it is a dangerous substance that not even legal adults are ready for. People aren’t so easily fooled.
Thus, there is an element of thrill-seeking to drinking. It is an illegal activity for persons under 21, and with that framework in mind, they go about it differently. Drinking is relegated to basement parties, dangerous locations away from supervision, and other places that the youth would otherwise avoid.
Another phenomenon, “pre-gaming” is a direct result of the underground culture drinking is forced to fit into. Because the youth cannot be legally served when they go out, if they wish to be drunk they drink large amounts of alcohol before even going out. Essentially, they binge drink to compensate for not being able to drink later on in the evening.
You clearly do not understand the situation fully.
When you bring of tobacco as a contradiction to the current mentality over the drinking age, you again demonstrate your lack of comprehension. Tobacco is legal for 18 year olds to purchase. That kills your argument, any other point you’re trying to make is irrelevant to the issue at hand.
I’d like to ask you, what is so special about the age 21? If alcohol is really as terrible as you claim, shouldn’t it just be illegal? Well, that didn’t work so well last time people tried… The truth of the matter is, alcohol can be enjoyable and safe in moderation. By allowing 18 year olds to drink, parents and instructors can better communicate this message.
After all, our society has decided that 18 is the age of majority. 18, unlike 21, is a legally significant age. 21 is a special tweaking of the law that exists not because of logic but because of uneducated fear - as demonstrated in your blog posting.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Nowhere in this ridiculous rant do I see a reason for why the drinking age should be 21 instead of 18. At 18, people become an adult and are therefore afforded the rights associated with adulthood… voting, smoking, the right to enter into legal contracts, the right to join the military and die in Iraq, but wait… oh no they can’t drink because they will BINGE DRINK AT COLLEGE OMFG.
Forgive me. I had to keep it real like your little blog here. It may be arbitrary, but at 18, people become adults and become legally responsible for their actions. If they can’t handle their alcohol, then the law will handle them just like anyone else. As some university officials have suggested, the schools will teach them to handle themselves responsibly. I think its a great idea. As a social policy, we will only need to find a way to bring such policies to people who don’t go to college.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Nearly every other country in the world has the drinking age set at 18 or lower. We appear foolish to most because of our high drinking age - how can you have a country where you can be sent to war but can’t drink to your victory? Seriously, people laugh at us. A lot of people.
Most of these places also have much fewer problems with drunk driving, alcoholism, and binge drinking. My years studying in Germany did involve alcohol - significant amounts, yes. However, I also learned there how to moderate my drinking and keep myself from making a fool of myself, a skill they pride themselves on. Students are shamed by their peers for being bad drunks. I’m not sure they’d even know what binge drinking would mean if they had the term.
The fact is, the kids are going to drink anyway, no matter how hard you try. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool, and I mean a big fool. The choice is simple - continue to sweep it under the carpet and pretend it’s not there, or bring it out into the open, get everyone in the same room and not hiding from each other, and deal with it like adults.
But we’re so obsessed with saying one thing and doing another…
August 20th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Lowering the drinking age by three years has its benefits. Controlled distribution, i.e. buying your own alcohol, would be more pervasive and in places of alcoholic exclusivity, would monetarily discourage overindulgence. The availability of alcohol would eliminate the need to binge beforehand, and since, as you admit, alcoholic consumption in the private setting is always unhampered by the law, we can do nothing more than prevent this sole brand of binging.
Your argument that lowering the drinking age shifts the entire spectrum downward is flawed. This is only true if you are assuming the transition from high school to college is continuous. Parents make it not so. As far as liberties are concerned, a 17-year-old with his parents is living in an infinitely different world as an 18-year-old on his own.
We, as a freaking nation, must give 18-21 year-olds some respect. They are, by legal definition, adults, and should be allowed to make their own decisions.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Its interesting to see the drunk driving applied and tied to underage driving. The recent campaigns against drunk driving has dramatically decreased drunk driving incidents in the recent years. The interesting aspect of this though is, if we want to fight drunk driving lets target that specifically IE why take it out on minors.
To prove a point, attending a 4 year University I binge drank before I was 21. Since turning 21 the amount I drink on any specific occasion is far less if not 1/5 of what I would drink when drinking illegally.
Two mentalities can explain this. First as Joshua explained “pre-gaming” when intending to attend a social even, basketball game, cruise, dance, etc. If I wanted to be intoxicated I had to drink enough to get me through it. 2nd and more important in my opinion is the attitude when breaking the law. If you have committed to breaking the law it might as well be worth it. By forcing students, and youth in general to break the law to experience intoxication it becomes noticeable that intend of drinking is to get “hammered.” With sour faces following every shot and intermittent chugs, the attention has shifted from drinking to loosen up a bit to attaining the “best,” and most significant results for taking a risk that could potentially destroy the remainder of our careers and life by tacking on a criminal record in our recently achieved “sudo-adult” life
August 20th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
It is odd reading something that looks a teenager wrote it. I think more exclamation marks, bold letters and multiple question marks will encourage people to your pov.
My favorite excerpt follows…
Yes, smoking can kill you — over time. But drinking?? It can be instantaneous!
That made me laugh out loud.
The only way to get people to lead the type of life you want them to lead is through prohibition and outlawing, so say you. Good luck.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Like the previous people who responded to your rant, I feel it is entirely flawed.
As a college student i find myself frustrated at the fact that my colleagues and i find ourselves forced to drink in the most absurd and dangerous conditions. And i don’t know where you got the notion that people will binge drink regardless. I went to italy with my friends during the summer before we all went to college. my friends are serious binge drinkers. when we got to italy and they found they could buy drinks, they were immediately excited, but on the second night, they found themselves drinking casually and over a longer period of time because they didn’t have to hide it or do it before they went anywhere. they even had nights when they didn’t drink, which was so strange for me because i had never seen them turn down a drink at home. thats my bit on binge drinking. it isn’t as exciting, or even cool to binge drink when it’s legal, it just looks stupid. when you keep the drinking age higher, you keep the kids from 18-20 at a continual rebellious stage where they still are treated as kids. imagine the attitude change that would occur if they were allowed to drink.
My favorite line from your rant was: “Giving the 18-year-olds the right to drink is like puttin’ a gun in their hands and askin’ ‘em not to pull the trigger!” the irony of course is that, 18 year old “kids” are given guns at 18. an 18 year old can buy rifles, knives, matches, lighter fluid, and what not. an 18 year old can legally drive a car at any hour of the day. an eighteen year old (even 17, with permission) is allowed to serve the army, which isn’t like your analogy of guns, but IS your analogy. if your analogy is to attempt to make the point that having access to alcohol is like having access to guns, you ought to know that 18 year olds are given guns and are using them. i think its sad when a country can be as hypocritical as to say you are mature enough to be armed and defend and possibly die for the 300 or-so million people of this country but are deemed not mature enough to drink. that will always baffle me. i think the order in which people are given privileges in this country is not in the correct order. imagine offering to buy a soldier a drink only to find out they aren’t old enough. we entrust our lives to many people who are under 21 and serving our military. why do we allow people we don’t feel are responsible enough to drink alcohol to be responsible for the safety and defense of our country?
I honestly think that drinking will become a whole lot safer if the legal age went back to 18. because, 18 year olds are living with their parents usually when they turn it, and are usually seniors in high school. that means that they will not have to be sneaking around dangerously with alcohol. their parents can monitor them and the kids will be more responsible. when you learn to drive, your parents are their to help you and monitor you and make you a safe driver. why can it not be the same for drinking. i think this is the potential for a safer society, because most kids, are drinking their freshman year in high school. many of these kids are seasoned drinkers and smokers by the time they graduate high school. lowering the drinking age doesn’t mean younger kids get into drinking. the same kids who get into drinking will get into drinking. you wont see 12 year olds getting drunk because the drinking age is down to 18. thats the same kind of logic that we can expect from the people who opposed gay marriage because they would think it would lead to allowing the marriage of animals. the leap in logic is absurd. a 12 year old doesn’t have enough independence to gain access to this and keep it away from people to see it. not to mention the fact that the average 12 year old has been taught DARE and been given many many many different reasons to be afraid of alcohol and other drugs from all the educational videos, similar to sex-ed videos and STD’s.
my point: the SAME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DRINK.
nothing changes, except that it will be socially acceptable in public, reducing binge drinking, “pre-gaming” and drinking and driving even. many kids drive drunk because their parents give them curfews and the kids can’t afford to tell their parents they were drinking and would rather stay at their friend’s house, so they have to do something entirely dangerous to avoid getting caught and drive home drunk. with the drinking age lower, if the kid is legally allowed to drink, they will not be (as) ashamed to tell their parents they are drinking that night and need to spend the night. a lower drinking age gives people the chance to be responsible.
on college campuses, a lower drinking age isolates the problem of students getting into trouble over the same thing: getting caught drinking, which will happen anyway. kids get scars on their records just because they were basically unlucky. for the most part, college campuses have a huge amount of adults that drink. it is an enormous waste of effort to spend time looking for people who are drinking. kids that are doing drugs and substances that are not legal to anyone is never acceptable, and should be the target of these efforts. and by the way, upon admittance to my school, along with everyone else at my school, we were required to take an extensive online class online called “alcohol edu”, which assumed you were going to drink in college and gave you advice on how to drink responsibly. it was mandatory, and also requires you to log back in after 60 days to check up on you and to ask about your new drinking habits. colleges know and expect that their students are drinking and are going to drink. why not make it ok so people do it in a safe(r) manner.
for those who believe that alcohol is truly something that we cannot entrust to people that are under 21, then we need to raise the driving age, the age to enlist, the smoking age, and gun ownership age, because this is becoming a serious hypocrisy.