[peeb]

Discuss.

[stwain2003]

Horribly stupid. And I'm fifteen.

The Democrats are at it again... How smart they are!

[subego]

Usual spiel.

If you can vote, fry in the chair or have your legs blown-off by an IED, you should be able to crack a beer.

Driving age should be 21 though, otherwise every night will be amateur night.

[peeb]

Good God. A Post by subego I agree with!

[stwain2003]

No, you SHOULDN'T be able to. Getting blown up by an IED isn't killing millions of 18-year-old every year in drunk driving accidents. You're TOTALLY nonsensical.

[subego]

Originally Posted by stwain2003 

No, you SHOULDN'T be able to. Getting blown up by an IED isn't killing millions of 18-year-old every year in drunk driving accidents. You're TOTALLY nonsensical.

Did you miss the part where I said "driving age should be 21 though, otherwise every night will be amateur night"?

[peeb]

Well, it's not just getting blown up, it's being trusted to make decisions of life and death, and make the decision to put his life in danger. If a kid is old enough to do that, they're old enough to choose to drink a beer?

[peeb]

Originally Posted by stwain2003 

...killing millions of 18-year-old every year in drunk driving accidents.

The drop in highway fatalities began in the late 1970s, well before the federal drinking age set in.

[SpaceMonkey]

I started drinking early and it worked for me: YouTube - KITH Are You Drunk?

Edit for seriousness: Yes, I believe a drinking age of 18 would be reasonable.

[Wiskedjak]

If you're not responsible enough to drink a beer at 18 then you can't possibly be responsible enough to choose the leaders of your country.

Agreed the the driving age should be much higher than 16. In fact, people should learn to control their alcohol consumption before they learn to drive, not after.

[peeb]

Yep - it's odd that the drink-driving issue should be addressed by restricting drinking, not by restricting driving.

[gangaspeed]

Yes, it should be lowered along with more lenient mary jane laws. The prohibition has done nothing its time for something new.

[besson3c]

There are many days when I think that these legal age laws have nothing to do with the welfare of people and more to do with the economy and making money.

[smacintush]

I agree with Subego above.

How is it that so many other countries can have 18 year-old or lower drinking limits yet not have the problems with drunk driving incidents that we do? Seems as if it's not the drinking itself that's the problem…

[tie]

Originally Posted by smacintush 

I agree with Subego above.

How is it that so many other countries can have 18 year-old or lower drinking limits yet not have the problems with drunk driving incidents that we do? Seems as if it's not the drinking itself that's the problem…

I wonder this too, although maybe some statistics would be helpful.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

There are many days when I think that these legal age laws have nothing to do with the welfare of people and more to do with the economy and making money.

Please explain how a drinking age of 21 helps the economy.

[Shaddim]

18 should be the legal age for everything; drinking, driving, and voting.

People will begin acting like adults when we treat them like adults.

[King Bob On The Cob]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Please explain how a drinking age of 21 helps the economy.

If you're a freshman in college and you crack open a beer, the police can collect a $200 fine right off the bat if they decide you're intoxicated. (As nearly every freshman will sometime find someone who has had one of these tickets)

The government loves it.

[Doofy]

There's certain advantages in having the limit a little higher. For example, you're more likely to develop hobbies and a social life which doesn't involve getting blotto every night. You drink earlier and you (society) tends to fall into the drinking rut - around here there's next to nothing to do other than go get drunk, which is why the UK has a bit of a drinking/yobbo problem.

[- - e r i k - -]

Legal drinking age should be 18, same with driving age. That way you can educate safe drinking as well as driving at the same time. Makes cognitive sense.

And for **** sake, your kids that travel abroad at 18-20 are an absolute embarrassment to the rest of the world.

[thunderous_funker]

Originally Posted by subego 

Usual spiel.

If you can vote, fry in the chair or have your legs blown-off by an IED, you should be able to crack a beer.

Driving age should be 21 though, otherwise every night will be amateur night.

Not every day I get to offer subego a

Feels good for a change

[Mastrap]

The drinking age in Europe starts at 14/16 for beers and wine for most countries. No descent into anarchy* and no slaughter on the highways from drunk drivers have yet been reported.



*Except in parts of the UK, but that's for different reasons.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Legal drinking age should be 18, same with driving age. That way you can educate safe drinking as well as driving at the same time. Makes cognitive sense.

So kids should have their parents cart them everywhere all throughout high school? I grew up in a rural area, and that simply wouldn't work. Parents have jobs, lives, etc., having to pick their 17 year old up from every activity would be quite a burden. Around here kids that live over 1 mile from school are eligible for a school permit at the age of 14.

Originally Posted by Doofy 

There's certain advantages in having the limit a little higher. For example, you're more likely to develop hobbies and a social life which doesn't involve getting blotto every night. You drink earlier and you (society) tends to fall into the drinking rut - around here there's next to nothing to do other than go get drunk, which is why the UK has a bit of a drinking/yobbo problem.

Have you EVER been to a college campus? The drinking age has no effect on whether or not people drink.

[Zeeb]

Originally Posted by stwain2003 

No, you SHOULDN'T be able to. Getting blown up by an IED isn't killing millions of 18-year-old every year in drunk driving accidents. You're TOTALLY nonsensical.

Then by that logic we should raise the age at which a person can join the army to 21. I think its unethical to ask a person to risk their life in war while depriving them of the other rights citizens have. It's the inconsistency that is utterly stupid.

Since we need more young, impressionable hamburger meat for Iraq I'm guessing it would be easier to lower the drinking age to 18.

[peeb]

Absolutely.

[BadKosh]

The house & Senate are just trying to get younger people drunk because even young stupid kids can see how inept and useless congress has become.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

So kids should have their parents cart them everywhere all throughout high school? I grew up in a rural area, and that simply wouldn't work. Parents have jobs, lives, etc., having to pick their 17 year old up from every activity would be quite a burden. Around here kids that live over 1 mile from school are eligible for a school permit at the age of 14.

I grew up in a rural area as well. Ever heard of public transport?

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Have you EVER been to a college campus? The drinking age has no effect on whether or not people drink.

How is that relevant?

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by Zeeb 

Then by that logic we should raise the age at which a person can join the army to 21. I think its unethical to ask a person to risk their life in war while depriving them of the other rights citizens have. It's the inconsistency that is utterly stupid.

Since we need more young, impressionable hamburger meat for Iraq I'm guessing it would be easier to lower the drinking age to 18.

Enlist, get money for college and a six pack when you leave boot camp!

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by BadKosh 

The house & Senate are just trying to get younger people drunk because even young stupid kids can see how inept and useless congress has become.

The whole government is currently inept and useless.

[Spliffdaddy]

Originally Posted by gangaspeed 

Yes, it should be lowered along with more lenient mary jane laws. The prohibition has done nothing its time for something new.

oh hell yeah. Who is this guy?

I'm all for making possession of pot legal.

As for drinking? I think the legal drinking age should be 35 - along with the ability to get a drivers license.

That should make the liberals happy. They get to smoke pot and they finally get some folks to actually ride their mass-transit systems. We can get stoned and save the planet at the same time. Win-win.

Otherwise, I'm a conservative.

[Rumor]

I envision a bus something like this:



It's not the picture I wanted, but I couldn't find the one showing the car full of smoke and billowing out the windows.

Glad to see you around SD.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Spliffdaddy 

They get to smoke pot and they finally get some folks to actually ride their mass-transit systems.

Mass transit is such a joke. I tried it for a year and finally decided that the 25 hours a week that it cost me just wasn't worth it.

[besson3c]

What public transit system are you referring to Chuckit, just out of curiosity? Are you in NYC?

[brassplayersrock²]

[Rab Mush]

It would be silly to raise the age for driving. It would be silly to allow someone to be an adult in every sense of the word except alcohol consumption.

You're welcome.