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Let’s lower the drinking age….why does this seem like a bad idea to me?
I can always count on Vermont to give me some interesting blogging material.
Vermont Latest State to Eye Lower Drinking Age
MONTPELIER, Vt. — More than two decades after the country established a uniform drinking age of 21, a nascent movement is afoot to allow 18- to 20-year-olds to legally buy alcohol under some circumstances.
Proponents say the higher age hasn’t kept young people from consuming alcohol and has instead driven underage consumption underground, particularly on college campuses.
“Our laws aren’t working. They’re not preventing underage drinking. What they’re doing is putting it outside the public eye,” Vermont state Sen. Hinda Miller said. “So you have a lot of kids binge drinking. They get sick, they get scared and they get into trouble and they can’t call because they know it’s illegal.”
On Thursday, a committee of the Vermont Senate approved Miller’s bill to have a task force weigh the pros and cons of rolling back the drinking age and make a recommendation to the Legislature early next year.
Now, I’ll give them this…apparently they’re not the only state thinking about doing this. But to me, it doesn’t seem like the brightest of moves. After all, Vermont’s own research shows that when they raised the drinking age, it brought about a huge reduction in the number of alcohol-related fatalities.
Vermont voted to raise the age in 1985, and in the ensuing 20 years, alcohol-related traffic fatalities dropped by 40 percent, according to Vermont State Police.
40% is a pretty big number. Why would they want to do something that could potentially cause a lot of people to die? It just doesn’t make sense to me. I understand what they say about causing teen drinking to be driven underground, but hey, at least it’s slowing them up. I understand that at 18, you’re old enough to vote, etc…..but judgment still isn’t what it will eventually (hopefully) become when you’re that age. After all, think back to what YOU were doing at 18.
What’s your opinion on this….should we roll back the drinking age, or leave things as they are?
I actually have no big problem with this one. I feel that if a young person is able to enlist in our military and fight for his country, I should be able to just maybe buy him a beer in a bar and say thanks to him when he gets back.
Can you educate this Canuck, please? Do you still allow enlisted men & women to drink if they are under 21? I know the US used to do that, if kids had their “draft card”.
Personally, I grew up where the legal drinking age was 18…. it wasn’t a big deal, really. I was just really annoyed that when I took my first real trip through the US, I was 19, and couldn’t drink anywhere!
RG
Wendy…
Our military has long since sought political correctness!
“In the “old days” anyone on active duty could consume alcohol on military installations, regardless of the legal drinking age off-base.
However, in the mid-80s, advocacy groups, such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunken Drivers) lobbied Congress to change this. Federal law (United States Code, Title 10, Section 2683) requires military installation commanders to adopt the same drinking age as the state the military base is located in….”
Here in the USA, nobody under the age of 21 gets drunk and silly anymore, not even our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
Yeah, …. Right!
It sounds warped, Tammy. Over here, young people can get drinks and public houses are open 24 hours a day, which really encourages rowdyism.
If you had posed this question 10 years ago my response would have been -Hooray! Now I am not so sure. I do agree that if you are old enough to fight than you are old enough to drink. However, now that I have a daughter I think they should move the age up to 50! Just Kidding. I do think kids will drink regardless of the drinking age.
If we are looking to lower traffic fatalities, why not ban alcohol altogether?
They cite a 40% decrease in fatalities, but I do not believe that to be entirely caused by a raised drinking age. A greatly increased number of people now wear seatbelts. Additionally, the mentality about drinking and driving is completely different. Young adults today are much less tolerant of those who drink and drive, and the mentality is that it should not be done under any circumstances. Compare that to the mentality of those who were first legal to drink in the 1980s; I have heard it described as “being cool”.
On top of that, I can assure you that those under 21 can access alcohol, especially the 18-21 age group. A major problem with limiting 18-21 year olds from purchasing alcohol is that it promotes binge drinking because these adults must drink what they have when they can get it. Making alcohol a commodity really only limits this age groups casual use of alcohol (e.g. wine at dinner, occasional beer.).
Society expects 18-21 year olds to be adults in every other way. The higher drinking age only serves to infantilize this age group at a time when they should be learning how to be responsible adults. Why wonder how immature some of this age group is if society doesn’t treat them like the adults they are? Should they act like adults if they are not treated as such?
If you’re looking to lower traffic fatalities, BAN CARS! No, but seriously… I somehow doubt that young soldiers are more likely to have drunk driving accidents than say an illegal Mexican. They appear to be driving over people at a rate of about one every day and a half.
Just sayin’.
RG
Oh sure, what the hell – lower it and give them weed too. Seriously, I have no idea what I think anymore. Not sure if minors can still drink on post, but I am fine with that one for sure.
i think the drinking age should be lowered to 18 throughout the united states. if you can go fight in a war to defend our country you should be able to walk in a bar and buy a beer.
Now we know why Vermont’s population isn’t booming. More than one way to control that.