Should the drinking age be 21?

[Joker]

If you can abstain from drinking until you are of age, at least you know you not the kind of person who is likely to become dependent on alcohol.

Tami, this is 100% not at all how alcohol addiction works, and it's very irresponsible to talk about it this way.

[Carabas]

Also, Americans are of age at 18 in every way that matters except for the alcohol thing.

[Tami]

Tami, this is 100% not at all how alcohol addiction works, and it's very irresponsible to talk about it this way.

I am only talking about it in terms of someone like the poster who has already said he drinks even though he is under age. I am not talking about it in terms of someone who has never had a drink before.

I know about addiction, not from personal experience but from others and from my studies in college. I know that a way to tell if you are addicted to something is to see if you can step away from it, abstain from it, without having a psychological or physiological need to go back to it.

If you find you that you can't step away from it on your own, that is when you may need to seek out the right kind of help. To talk to a doctor or a mental health professional about it.

Of course you have to want to do it, that is the first step is admitting you have a problem and then wanting to do something about it.

One of the benefits of waiting until you are 21 before starting to drink is that it gives a person time to mature enough and educated enough to approach it from a position of caution. To recognize the warning signs of possible problems and be ready to deal with them.

If you start drinking too young, it becomes too easy to see your world as revolving around drinking. You don't have the perspective to realize that there is more to life than a glass of beer. Drinking on moderation, drinking responsibly, if you can handle it is a person's right. If they can't do that, at any age, then they should consider the possibility that they might have a real problem.

Of course, alcoholism can happen at any age, some people never develop the right perspective about the place of alcohol in their lives.

[Tami]

Also, Americans are of age at 18 in every way that matters except for the alcohol thing.

And smoking, and gambling and owning a weapon in most states.

[Kyer]

I'm starting to think that nobody should be allowed to do anything that will stunt their thinking until they are at least 25 as I've read that that is generally when the body has matured as much as it's going to get in a good way. Why risk stunting anything before you're sure your mind is working on all cylinders?

I'm not totally kidding. Still not decided yet.

Then I'd put a cap on being able to do -mind stunters- once the person starts to go senile. (My dad is bad enough a driver now. Under no circumstances would I allow him to drink so much as cough syrup and get behind a wheel if it were up to me. Word to the wise, if you see a white CRV coming down the road with an elderly gent at the wheel for God's sake get out of the way. Trust me on this.)

Me? I've never taken in more than a thimble's full of alky (Wedding Anniversary party for relatives; pink champagne at the instigation of my also underage and rule-defying cousin who told me it was pink lemonade beforehand.) My eight-year-old tastebuds decided it tasted horrendous, spat it back in the cup and declined further. Minutes later saw the drunken antics of my second cousin making a fool of himself before the celebrated pair and upon discovering he was not being an ass on purpose decided right then and there I'd never willing take anything that made me more than an idiot than Nature had already decreed by birthright.

[Joker]

I am only talking about...

But that's not what you said. It certainly isn't how it came across.

[Tami]

But that's not what you said. It certainly isn't how it came across.

If you have concerns regarding my choice of words, then fine. I made my point as clearly as I could in my second post, and there isn't anything in it that is irresponsible. Right from the start I was cautioning him that he can't equate drinking with socializing, and that becoming too dependent on drinking could be a sign of addiction.

One thing I have never been is irresponsible. Feel free to ask me to elaborate, or join in by sharing your own views on the subject. Calling me irresponsible is unfairly harsh and unwarranted.

[Joker]

These words, in your initial post (and thank you for the follow up) are incorrect and irresponsible in my mind.

If you can abstain from drinking until you are of age, at least you know you not the kind of person who is likely to become dependent on alcohol.

Being able to abstain until you're 21 has nothing to do with possible addiction. It in no way is an indicator that you won't be subject to or eventually develop an addiction. That may have not been how you meant to phrase it, but that's how it reads.

If that's how it reads for me, that's how it might read for someone else, too.

[Tami]

These words, in your initial post (and thank you for the follow up) are incorrect and irresponsible in my mind.



Being able to abstain until you're 21 has nothing to do with possible addiction. It in no way is an indicator that you won't be subject to or eventually develop an addiction. That may have not been how you meant to phrase it, but that's how it reads.

If that's how it reads for me, that's how it might read for someone else, too.

In context, the 'You' is the poster who has already said he drinks and has done so since he was 17. I could have added the qualifier 'Less Likely' and made it clear that it wasn't a free pass to drink as much as he wanted to. I'm pretty sure I also mentioned in that post about drinking responsibly.

It isn't easy to write about something this serious and complicated and get every word exactly right, which is why you have ot read everything in context, not just one sentence.

Anyway, I made my point, and hopefully this time there won't be much misinterpretation or confusion.

[a moment closer]

Between the ages of 1 and 7, my family was in the habit of letting us kids have sips of whatever they were drinking. Whiskey, wine, beer, whatever. I had been allowed to drink a full small can of beer or bottled wine cooler from time to time after that. I started really drinking around 13, with permission, whenever I wanted. The thing is, I never got wasted, I drank responsibly because I was taught to respect it from a young age. It was in the safety of my own home or a relative's. When I did go out drinking with friends I was very aware of how alcohol affected me. I was able to drink responsibly or even make the decision to abstain without giving in to peer pressure. I think I was 22 or 23 before ever getting sick from over-drinking and that's because it was a party where shots were thrown at everyone in a relatively short time. Yes, College kids tend to binge drink. A lot of people hit 21 and go crazy. The downside is they never learn to respect the drink, they earn a driver license at a young age, and then fail to be responsible. I think if the drinking age limit were lower and the driving laws or requirements more strict, we wouldn't have as many issues. Which falls in line with most of the world's practices, I think. So, yeah, I agree with the OP on this one.

[dancj]

21 is just bizarre. It's one of the things that make other nations thing Americans are weird.

[DrNewGod]

If they can vote...

[MajorHoy]

I am not allowed in any bar. The only times I've been able to drink at a bar is during large social gatherings where I won't be carded which are rare for someone with a social life as dull as mine. I enjoy drinking and I enjoy being drunk...not blackout of course but it's a fun activity for me.

The drinking age being 21 is stupid considering it is 18/19 in most other places. I'm missing out on so much by not being able to go to bars and drink with my friends and it's extremely lonely. Clearly when they passed the law to change the drinking age they did not factor in the loneliness aspect which is huge for me.

The "loneliness" thing was probably not as a high a priority as trying to reduce the number of young drinkers getting killed when they were drunk because of driving while under the influence, etc.

And if your "friends" can't compromise and sometimes go to places that still serve food and alcohol without being a "bar", maybe you need to find additional friends to socialize with from time to time. It can sound somewhat worrisome that you're putting such a high priority on an apparent "need" to have alcohol.

[GOLGO 13]

Old enough to fight/die for your country then your old enough to drink.

[Trey Strain]

It's too bad that the drinking age got raised, but it happened because too many college students abused their freedom to do it.