Why is it bad for a 18 year old to drink but he can join the army and kill people?

Question

I have just been thinking about it.

Answer 1

It's a question that's come up before, during the Vietnam War and the Federal Government lowered the voting age to 18, while most of the States lowered the Drinking age to 18 as well.

But 18 year olds didn't use their votes and the buzzkills did. So it was easy to browbeat the Pols into raising the drinking age back to 21. Especially, since the end of the War and the Draft pushed the issue into the background.

The excuse was drunk driving. And there is a real justification there. Young people are more likely to drive drunk than older ones. Killing people in war because they are trying to kill you is one thing. Killing people on the highway because you're too wasted to be driving and too proud to give up the keys is a whole different thing.

But let that be a lesson to you. Any time you fail to stand up for your Rights--be prepared to lose them. not just for yourself, but for everyone who comes after.

Answer 2

America has a weird and puritan attitude to drinking. It is one of the few countries in the world where the drinking age is still 21.

Most countries consider people to be adults at 18, and treat them accordingly. American culture still treats 18 year olds as children in some respects, yet adult in another.

An 18 year old can buy a car, a house, and a gun. They can get married and have a child together. They can vote. They can join the police or the army and kill people in the line of duty. They can be executed for committing a crime. They can take up smoking, which is almost always highly addictive and usually fatal. But they cannot buy a beer.

It's pretty stupid. America is about the only country in the world that has two different ages when a person becomes an adult. Personally, I think they need to pick a single age and go with it.

The fact is that the current drinking age pushes drinking underground, encourages drug experimentation, and allows adults to have their lives ruined by getting caught up in the criminal justice system at a huge cost to the taxpayer.

The drinking age should be 18, but they could implement stiffer penalties for drunk driving for the under 21 group. The longer you treat adults like children, the longer it takes them to learn responsibility. If most other 18 year olds around the world can learn to drink responsibly, I'm pretty sure Americans can.

Answer 3

I've grown up on a military community and I can say honestly and factually that when an 18 year old solider joins the army he automatically is of legal drinking age despite the fact that he might not be 21.

Answer 4

That's a good point, but did you know the drinking and voting age in Alberta Canada is 18 ?
Also when you are in the military and off to war you can drink even if under age. Only in The Legion I believe so. ;-)
And Alberta want the voting age from 18 to 16.
Look at this site:
Voting in Canada: How a Privilege Became a Right
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDCC-1-73-1450-9566/politics_economy/voting_rights/

Edit: Whoever gave Bobby the thumbs down is wrong!
Check it out, they can drink. My husband was Navy, he drank under age while in the Navy in the Royal Canadian Legion.

Answer 5

I think the whole argument comes down to that research has shown that the adolescent brain i.e. people under 21 and body can not handle/process the alcohol like an adult brain can. The link I posted has some of the reasons and explanations for the law being the way it is. But what I mentioned is their primary argument. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Come to England, 18 year olds can drink here. In fact 10 year olds seem to drink as much here.

Answer 7

I did some reaserch on this question a while back and came up with the awnser that it was made a law in effort to discourage drinking and driving which was occuring in that age braket

Answer 8

Wow, While I really don't like drinking at all...i must say that this is an argument for drinking I haven't heard before. If you go public with that question 18 year old guys who are alcoholics in training, have no control over themselves, and think drinking makes them look cool will love you everywhere.

Answer 9

In Iraq and Afghanistan it doesn't matter if you're 18 or 58, nobody is drinking anything with alcohol in it. The military has absolutely forbidden it.

Answer 10

They tried having 18 year olds legally buy alcohol and it was pretty much chaos. I mean, army is discipline[though i hate it] and you dont always kill people. 18 year olds can find it either way anyway....I think it is a better idea because I mean 18 year olds...well they're just kids...