For those who believe that the minimum drinking age in America is counterproductive What should be done?

Question

As most people know the minimum drinking age in America is 21. Problems related to drinking among the under twenty-one age group are actually worse here than in European countries that have no age limit imposed on drinking.
In France a boy can have wine with his parents and thinks nothing of it, in America the boy would feel privileged to get to consume alcohol and from that stems the idea of it being cool. On top of that there is the sense of being rebellious by drinking underage that most teens experience.
It's clear that the ban on underage drinking is ineffective, but to instantly remove the ban could have disastrous instant effects if mass numbers of young people go for the bottle.
So how do we find a happy medium that results in a lower number of alcohol related incidences among younger people while getting rid of a the flawed prohibition system the U.S. has tried for so long?

Long detailed answers would be much appreciated!
Thanks = )

Answer 1

I haven't seen any data that shows that to be true. It's a good theory, but that's about it...

Lowering the drinking age a couple years only allows underage drinking to start at an earlier age. Instead of your college peers buying you booze, now the seniors in every high school will be doing that for the freshmen. They're just learning to drive, no need to take on mass drinking at that age.

Remember, you are comparing a different culture when you bring up France and any other country in Europe. Trying to single out the difference in alcohol use is almost impossible to be fair in comparison.

Answer 2

We have a similar problem in the UK. There is a huge drink/violence culture here that is only now being tackled. There have recently been legislation allowing bars to open 24 hours a day rather than close at 11pm. There was an outcry that this would estroy society. Police chiefs, judges, focus groups and the press all hounded politicians to stop the madness. What these people didn't look at however was that as well as the late night drinking fun the government also demanded more from the clubs, bars and stores that sold the drink. Huge bans are now in place for anyone caught serving alcohol to anyone under 18. In fact the police and councils send out 18 year olds that look really young and if they are not asked for ID then they are questioned and their licence to sell can be revoked.

Also, if a club or bar receives too many calls to the police, over a month or so, the police have the power to shut the club down immediately and the owners must appeal to re open.

Every supervisor in a store or pub or bar must also go on a training course to show them the do's and don'ts and a supervisor must be present at all times.

Hope that gives a few pointers on how to help.
If you can vote, drive, marry, kill and die for your country a drink seems OK, don't you think?

Answer 3

I believe the main problem with underage drinking is the fact that these (usually teenagers) people go out and drive after drinking. It is pretty clear to me that it all depends on how responsible a person is... I really think that the drinking age should be lowered (18) so the rebellious kids can get it out of their system earlier when they're still at home... however, I think that the driving age should be 21 when hopefully they are mature enough to know not to mix drinking and driving.

Answer 4

I suppose you would have to implement the changes gradually, like reducing the age every couple of years.

HOWEVER

There is more to drinking than feeling cool. In the US, I would think that life sucks enough to drive people to drink as it is, but when you add in "teen angst", the feeling that teens get that the world really sucks and that they should just die because their bf/gf left them or some other silly thing that seems like the most important thing in the world at that age... and on top of that, when you think of the morality of america, increased alcohol use by teens would just lead to increased drunken teen pregnancies, which is probably the only reason someone would want to lower the drinking age.

ERGO

The only way we could have a reduced drinking age in the US would be for the children to be more mature, rational, and moral first. Alas. They are not. Nor are they about to be soon. Who is to blame? The parents? School? Society? Probably lots of things, but all I can say is that kids today definitely are not ready for it. (in general... not you, of course!)

Answer 5

I think we should lower the drinkin age. For one i think if 18 yr old citizens are allowed to go over seas and fight for our country, they should be able to consume whatever beverage they would like. Another reason, i personally know a girl from Germany, its no big deal for her to go out and have a drink. She doesnt even think anything bad about it. I think people would be fine with liek an 18 yr old drinkin age. I think it might solve people who are under 21 tryin to drink so much just to be cool.

Answer 6

This is a good question, unfortunately I cannot give you the long lengthy answer you are looking for. I do agree with you that prohibition does not work. I disagree with most laws that's sole purposes is to protect you from yourself. What to do about it? Petitions, get political. People have been fighting against prohibition for generations and not many victories have been won that have remained in effect. Do not give up however, fight for your beliefs. Sorry if this doesn't really answer your question...

Answer 7

Who's chain are you yanking...France is a country of alcoholics...I don't know what statistics you are quoting, but state all the facts, not just some of them. Russians drink vodka at an early age, and they are a nation of alcoholics also!

Answer 8

I personally think that if you can fight for your country and vote then you should be allowed to drink. I say lower the age to 18.

Answer 9

if people taught kids from day one how to drink responsibly, it wouldn't be an issue for them, they wouldn't go binging on alcohol, and making something illegal or taboo is the best way,not only to make kids want to do it, but to cause them to abuse it, to see why it's not allowed. kids brought up with the occassional glass of wine, a taste of this or that, learn to keep alcohol in its place.

Answer 10

I live in the US. My parents taught us how to drink responsibly at an early age. No one in my family drinks and drives. We do not abuse alcohol. Proper education is best.

Cheers.