Arbitrary Ages

Since there is a bit of a debate going on right now about what the legal drinking age should be, I figured I'd put my thoughts on it out there. Scary, I know.

A number of university presidents are informally petitioning to have laws changed so that states could make the drinking age whatever they wanted without any penalties from the Federal government. Right now, the states are free to change it, but at a cost in Federal highway dollars.

18. You can drive, you can vote, you can join the army to get sent off ot war, you can get married, you can do many things, but you can't buy alcohol. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. However, I do think the univeristy presidents have a point. People under the age of 21 are drinking, lots, and its pretty much an issue that isn't dealt with because its "illegal."

I think this is a valid point. How can you teach someone to be responsible with something that is illegal? Sort of self-defeating there. A couple of the ideas put forth were interesting. A "drinking license" much like a driver's license is one that intrigues me. A person would have to pass an alcohol awareness course to get their license to drink.

An idea I've been kicking around is to not let anyone under 21 buy packaged liquor. This doesn't solve all issues, but it does keep high school seniors from stocking up on beer for the next kegger. Not that they won't find other ways to do it, but at least it looks like their are restraints in place.

I suppose what it comes down to for me is this: people under 21 are going to drink. I would be most had their first drink either at home sneaking a drink of their parents booze, or at a friend's house sneaking their parents booze. While I think any changes in the drinking age should be carefully thought through, if we can send an 18 year old kid to die in some foreign country, shouldn't we at least be able to buy him a beer when he gets back? I don't know. Young people are going to be irresponsible with alcohol whether or not its legal. Why not make it legal so it can be supervised more easily?