18 or 21?
It's been coming up in the news a bit lately, so I figure why not throw it out there.
The 21 age limit is a broken system (trust me) but it makes Uncle Sam a ton of money in fines and what not, and I'm sure it probably does cut down on DUI deaths quite a bit. The problem I have with that arguement though is the belief that this is an unalterable consequence of an 18 year age limit.
If I remember correctly, Sweden (the person, a foreign exchange student from high school) told me Sweden's (the country) laws on the subject and it almost made too much sense. Why not lower the age to drink out (as in at bars and resturants) to 18, but keep the age to buy it from a store at 20 (in the case of Sweden) or 21 even? At even the dingiest of hole in the wall bars, there is a bartender there to cut you off and a bouncer to throw you out the door for wearing a hat like the gays do.
It is just enough of a level of control to keep Uncle Sam happy, while at the same time teaching teens their limits so they don't have to learn it from everyones friends over at the Delta house. And shit, the money some people will blow at the bar in one night, let alone two or three years when that is the only possiblity, far far exceeds that of an underage fine. Talk about an economic stimulus package! If anything, it's a hell of a lot of a better idea than the "lite beer" bullshiat law that my parents always use as their disclaimer for "back in the day." I highly doubt that really worked as planned. At least here there is a definite line drawn in the sand. Empty the top shelf if you want, but drink it here, don't take it with you.
Lemme hear em'
5 comments:
You're still sending the drunk 18 year old out to drive after you throw them out the door for wearing a hat like the gays do...
dammit.... i knew it was too good to be true...
cab? i know all the bars i see with a history of allowing underages or just a younger crowd even has at least two cop cars in the parking lot every night. i know its not gonna stop everyone though. point taken
It's not the law, it's the attitude of our country toward drinking...like it's some kind of evil. Believe me (being Irish)I've seen the evil alcohol can bring in my 40+ years running around this place, so I can understand our govt's need to protect people from the evil equated with drinking. But I also know that drinking can be done responsibly if you've got the correct brain chemistry.
It's an incredible can of worms...
It is the law. Prohibition does not "work" the way they say they want it too. NEVER! The only thing it does is the opposite of what they want...kill more people and drive stuff underground (whether it's drugs or underage drinking) thus making it MORE dangerous.
Let's see the number of deaths by drugs or alcohol per capita of Amsterdam vs. the US...I would bet my bottom dollar that we smoke em. Not to mention the amount of human capitol being wasted in prison for non-violent drug offenses.
The whole thing (drug war, DARE, underage drinking prevention, etc.) is a not only a joke but a misguided, proven to fail, money hogging sham.
I second everything achilles3 has said. From the underage drinkers I observe, myself included, it is the fear of getting a DUI and the steep penalties associated with it that deters most people from drinking and driving. It is NOT the penalties associated with underage drinking.
And lets be frank here, people under 21 drink and have access to alcohol. Having the drinking age at 21 does nothing more but make it a huge pain in the a$$ to get alcohol.
I also think that the argument that if kids are legally drinking at 18, then they will begin illegally drinking much before that, is a totally crock.
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