Straight Talk: Time to Rethink the Drinking Age

[ShootsManyBullets]

A better question is why was someone looking at a 14 year old thread?

 

[MarvB]

A better question is why was someone looking at a 14 year old thread?

Probably been drinking?

 

[Otto Matic]

My honest opinion.

Age has nothing to do with "drinking responsibly".
A mature mindset is.

I began actually drinking at 16.
Texas drinking age was 21.
There was always somebody in town of age that was willing to make the purchase for us. ALWAYS!
I wasn't mature enough to drink.
At age 19, I moved to Louisiana to work for Brown & Root. Suddenly, I could walk into bars and liquor stores and make my own purchases.
I may have been old enough legally, but I wasn't old enough mentally.
I returned to TX from LA at age 21.
I was legal in TX and furnished a lot of alcohol to underagers in my hometown.
Again, chronologically, I was legal.
Mentally? Meh.
Texas eventually reduced it's drinking age to 18.
I watched as streams of teens wandered into bars, getting drunk, starting fights and puking everywhere.
Only until my late 20's did the destructive nature of my drinking habits finally open my eyes.

There is no test you can administer, constitutionally, to establish a person's mental maturity.
A determined underage drinker WILL find a way to obtain alcohol.

Even IF parents, bar owners, wait staff and store owners and clerks take the ultimate responsibility to say yes or no, you're still not going to stop underage drinking.

Good luck on deciding on an age.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I never noticed the vintage of this thread. Now I feel like a dope. Well, if the shoe fits ...

 

[Gunner46]

If one is never allowed to make mistakes from inexperience, how are they to gain any experience to stop making inexperienced mistakes and grow ??

The 21 yr old single exception is nothing but a infringement of morality. Politicians want their votes. The Military's need cannon fodder, Fast Sam's used cars needs another Junker off the lot, hormones out of control, but their religion dictates absolute noncompliance of biological genetics w/o marriage.

If I meet a Private, and they want to get sh!t faced, I'll pour it for 'em, but make sure they get home safely, or at least have a crash pad somewhat near a bucket.

The Darwin Award is there for a reason.

 

[Gunner46]

I never noticed the vintage of this thread. Now I feel like a dope. Well, if the shoe fits ...

It's still a valid discussion, regardless of the original post date.

 

[RobertD]

Don't care much, make it 18 if you want. Hurry up and legalize marijuana would be a more worthy goal to me though.

 

[Randi]

A better question is why was someone looking at a 14 year old thread?

He possibly was going to start a thread and saw that his question had already been asked in a previous thread, so elected to revive it rather than start a new thread and lose the input form those who posted 14 years ago. It is interesting to see the mindset of those posting then and now

I am another vote for a "unified age of maturity". If you can do the most important things in life (marry, be drafted/enlist, drive with a full license, vote and enter legally binding contracts) at 18 there is absolutely zero reason not to allow that person to decide whether of not to drink. It was a hypocritical and reactionary construct by middle aged (at the time) who did not have the same limitation. As for the military itself, the legal drinking age of soldiers locations are now controlling as opposed to the previous "18 on base" rule.

As for the Europe comparison, it is really apples and oranges. I have lived in Italy, Germany and the UK (both as military and civilian) and anyone who has been out to clubs or pubs (or when these folks show up at Oktoberfest) in the UK and Italy should be able to tell you there is definitely ZERO "more maturity" there. British and Italian partiers on a weekend night (largely young folks) binge drink to extremes-as well as consuming copious amounts of party/designer drugs with nearly zero consequences. Germany is a different matter because of culture. Drinking to excess for ANYONE in Germany is simply not acceptable. This is engrained in folks......as it was to a degree by my German Oma. Losing control of yourself is a horrible thing.


BTW, plenty of folks MY age- 51- that will NEVER be able to handle their liquour

The above is my thoughts as well.

As stated above, it was very interesting to see how different the drinking cultures were in different countries.

Having been in college, in the very recent past, I do not believe the "majority" of 18, 19, and 20 year olds are ALL irresponsible. I would dare say the majority, a large majority, are labeled as irresponsible by the movies and news feeds by the minority who are irresponsible.

Another bone of contention for me is how old you have to be to get good car insurance rates whether you are buying it yourself or if your parents are putting it on their plan. We trust you to defend our country, get a marriage license, sign a binding legal document, vote, decide whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term, get a passport, unrestricted drivers license, hunting license, --but not drive responsibly .

 

[Misguided]

I’m 67 and still not mature enough. No qualified opinion here.

 

[mdhunter]

Well it's been 14 years since this thread was started.

Yup, you got the joke.

 

[OntarioHunter]

He possibly was going to start a thread and saw that his question had already been asked in a previous thread, so elected to revive it rather than start a new thread and lose the input form those who posted 14 years ago. It is interesting to see the mindset of those posting then and now

The above is my thoughts as well.

As stated above, it was very interesting to see how different the drinking cultures were in different countries.

Having been in college, in the very recent past, I do not believe the "majority" of 18, 19, and 20 year olds are ALL irresponsible. I would dare say the majority, a large majority, are labeled as irresponsible by the movies and news feeds by the minority who are irresponsible.

Another bone of contention for me is how old you have to be to get good car insurance rates whether you are buying it yourself or if your parents are putting it on their plan. We trust you to defend our country, get a marriage license, sign a binding legal document, vote, decide whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term, get a passport, unrestricted drivers license, hunting license, --but not drive responsibly .

Car insurance rates are based on hard accident rate statistics. Young people get in more accidents and they are therefore higher risk. I thought it was interesting how sharply car insurance premiums dropped after my daughter gave birth to grandson. But when you think about it, young people are more likely to drive more sensibly when they have precious cargo to look after. I can certainly understand why my insurance rates were higher when I was in my teens and early twenties than they are now in my late sixties. And I probably put three times more miles on my outfit every year now than I did back then. It's all about risk factors.

 

[Randi]

Willm1313 and Vikingsguy were my role models when I went to our local insurance agent with my graphs, research and argument .

The fact that men between the ages of 16 to 20 have twice as many fatal accidents, and three times a many between 20 to 25 did not impress our agent enough to lower my insurance. His showing me that the men in those age groups pay even more than I, did not sweeten my mood.

However, I do not want to derail this thread discussing insurance rates

As to the subject at hand ( should 18 year olds be allowed to buy and drink alcohol ) " IF"-----

you trust us to defend our country, get a marriage license, sign a binding legal document, vote, decide whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term, get a passport, unrestricted drivers license, hunting license, --at 18--then yes, we should also be allowed to buy and drink alcohol at the same age

 

[Otto Matic]

Don't care much, make it 18 if you want. Hurry up and legalize marijuana would be a more worthy goal to me though.

It is, in lots of places. Colorado comes to mind. DUI's increased exponentially.

Arrests for "possession" in adjoining states skyrocketed with the idiotic, mind numbing explanation of. "I bought it legally in Colorado!?"
"Yeessss, but possession in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas is illegal."

Bunch of dorks!

(Is my "old fart" showing yet?)
I feel very fortunate. My kids grew up around that crap. Neither found it interesting.

 

[TheJason]

It continually amazes me how our society accepts, and even glorifies alcohol, but demonizes marijuana. The only thing dumber than getting arrested for illegal possession of it in a neighboring state is the fact it’s still illegal in the first place.

 

[Otto Matic]

It continually amazes me how our society accepts, and even glorifies alcohol, but demonizes marijuana. The only thing dumber than getting arrested for illegal possession of it in a neighboring state is the fact it’s still illegal in the first place.

I'll admit, I probably came as close as anybody can to becoming an alcoholic.
I enjoyed getting drunk, but hated the hangover the next day.

I saw alcohol ruin lives and kill people. One a very close friend. Could NOT keep his nose out of a jug. Cirrhosis finally consumed him.

Four people I know (knew?) stayed stoned.
They all died laying on a drool soaked pillow in a full care facility.

Alcohol, in small quantities, can have beneficial effects. I drink 4 ounces of red wine before bed. Good for the heart. I sleep better.
Marijuana, best I can tell, only helps those with glaucoma, and that only reducing discomfort.

I don't think legalization is the answer, but we (the U.S.) also learned prohibition doesn't work either. !

Until classes in "Mental Maturity 101" can be taught starting about the 5th grade.....?

 

[DouglasR]

Four people I know (knew?) stayed stoned.
They all died laying on a drool soaked pillow in a full care facility.

From weed?!?!

 

[TheJason]

Until classes in "Mental Maturity 101" can be taught starting about the 5th grade.....?

That applies to a multitude of things beyond booze and pot.

Not specifically directed at you or anyone else in particular, but what sort of mental gymnastics does it take to think I should be able to tell someone they can’t smoke a bowl of weed because I’m concerned for your health, but BTW you can’t tell me to wear a mask in public during a pandemic?

Makes no sense to me. Bake your brains out. When your choices start affecting me because you’re driving while impaired, that’s different.

 

[DouglasR]

Of the handful of drugs I experimented with in my younger youth alcohol was prob the hardest IMO.
Alcohol is one hell of a drug!

 

[LuketheDog]

I don't care if they lower the drinking age or legalize pot, as long as the consequences for DUI get tougher, I also think they ought to raise the voting age to about 25 so more voters would have experienced things like paying taxes and having a job before they punch a ballot...

 

[TheJason]

I also think they ought to raise the voting age to about 25 so more voters would have experienced things like paying taxes and having a job before they punch a ballot...

But then you’re back to being able to die in battle, but not vote. That seems far stickier than being able to throw down shots of Cuervo.