Comments on: Why is the Drinking Age 21?

By: Franklin

Franklin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:38:05 +0000

@Justin
It is very illegal to sell or serve anyone who appears intoxicated. In fact, youre more likely to lose your license on a first offense for that than a first offense for someone underage. The fine is the same too

By: Chubby Bunny & Chimmychonga

Chubby Bunny & Chimmychonga — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:43:34 +0000

We think the drinking age should be lowered…to ELEVEN. jk jk.

Thank You For Reading :D

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:48:43 +0000

Sometimes I think I’m the only person in this country who never drank while in college.

By: Justin

Justin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:46:35 +0000

In America, it is illegal and highly punishable for a store clerk to sell alcohol to someone under 21, but not a crime at all for that same clerk to sell alcohol to a man (over 21) who swerved around in the parking lot for 10 minutes (because he’s so drunk) then passes out on the counter in the store while attempting to buy more alcohol. It is completely legal to sell this man alcohol and have him be on his way, to drive home. Yes, this is what MADD supports. They are not an anti-drunk driving group, they are an anti-human group.

By: Hally

Hally — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:47:11 +0000

I agree with the last poster. Alcohol in this country has been given a bad name, and has been abused becaused people in America don’t know how to drink. Here, it is an obnoxious way to get drunk, and behave badly. In most of the European world, it is a way to enjoy a meal, and get a buzz on to enjoy the evening. Binge drinking is a big problem in America because there is a culture that encourages it. That is not the case in Europe. People there are indoctrinated to the idea that alcohol is part of the FOOD culture instead of the getting drunk ideal. Alcohol is not the enemy. It is the cultural forces behind it that create problems.

By: brschro

brschro — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:05:07 +0000

I have long stated my opinion on the drinking age limit. The 26th amendment was passed to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. One of the prime arguments for this was that if someone was old enough to go to war, they should be old enough to vote for the people that would send them there. The idea that you are old enough to go to war at 18, but can’t buy a beer for another 3 years is the most nonsense our government has come up with (and that is saying something). The problem with binge drinking, underage drinking and associated problems is our overall American attitude toward alcohol. In other countries children and young adults are gradually introduced to mild alcohol and the stigma is removed. I was in France once staying in a B&B and there was a pitcher of wine with dinner. Kids from about 8 up got very watered wine, maybe a tenth wine, the rest was water. A teenager (about 15ish) had about half and half. Eliminating the forbidden aspect of alcohol will help to eliminate a lot of the associated problems. Making it forbidden with a stupid age limit just makes things worse.

By: Z

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:47:56 +0000

I’m 21 now, but started drinking at 18 when I first got to college. I have to saw that drinking isn’t quite as appealing as it used to be. I think a large part in the act of drinking to excess is that it is illegal and the act of “rebelling” is fun/thrilling. Take that away and people may drink less, as it is out in the open and acceptable.

Also the part about DWI’s being a problem was never an issue for me, as I was on a college campus. It’s high-schoolers that people need to be worried about, not college-aged kids.

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:46:52 +0000

The American drinking age is just bizarre. With states age of consent laws ranging from 16 to 18, I can’t understand how alcohol is a more risky endeavor than sex. The possibility of being infected with AIDS or creating a new life seems much more concerning than a bottle of beer.

As though it’s just 18 years olds who abuse alcohol. It’s prohibition on legal adults. Americans won’t do it to the voting majority, but they will do it to young adults.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:25:59 +0000

21 was an adult according to “English common law”? Please. At best that’s a cop-out.
The age that someone became a knight was considered to be usually between 18-21; there are few hard rules about that. If they were even thinking about English common law voting ages when they created the 1984 act, it would have been probably set to a minimum of 18. The countries that defined “English common law” (England and Wales) dropped their voting age to 18 in the 1970s.

It was just a notion of the prevailing conservative government in 1984 that 21 was “appropriate” – and any supporting evidence was purely cherry-picked on that basis.

By: Harpo

Harpo — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:37:07 +0000

What a dumb-ass country.