Drinking age lowered to 18?

[awein999]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

My point clearly was that people can die from almost anything. Airplanes crash every now and then (very rarely these days). People die from alcohol poisoning too, also very rarely. I'm saying if you get on a plane/drink alcohol, chances are nothing terrible is going to happen. But in the case of drinking, people make a huge deal of pointing out the few serious incidents that DO occur.

alcohol related incidents account for a fairly large population of the U.S. though. Do you mean the percentage of U.S citizens who try alcohol at any given time has a low incident rate? That's true but the point is it is an issue in today's society that needs to be addressed and I agree with you the age should be lowered

[ryanisadouche]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

I think if you are mature enough then 18 is a fine drinking age, but you do get some complete idiots that think they can take on the world when they are drunk. People mature so much from 18 - 21!

This probably hits the nail on the head more then anything. Everyone matures at a different age, and to try to put a general number on it is impossible. To cover their own ass's, the government is more or less forced to go with a higher number, although realistically everyone will start drinking before they hit "legal age". The point is people learn through experience, and those who are more mature will learn much faster.

[Jevanjo]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

LOL are your drinking age higher then 18? It's 18 here but if I go to Denmark wich isn't far from here at all the drinking age is 16

[s0ulst0n3]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

This probably hits the nail on the head more then anything. Everyone matures at a different age, and to try to put a general number on it is impossible. To cover their own ass's, the government is more or less forced to go with a higher number, although realistically everyone will start drinking before they hit "legal age". The point is people learn through experience, and those who are more mature will learn much faster.

Yeppers, I agree with this.

on occasion I drink with my big brother and my dad. Not because I like it, just because it's the only way I get quality time with them anymore. Dad works like 12 hours a day, so when he's not sleeping, he's drinking.

Good morning everyone, by the way.

[foilman8805]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

Kind of like when England gave out 24hr drinking licenses to some pubs and clubs, the crime rate actually dropped after a while (for a bit it was higher as it was a new thing). The reason it dropped eventually is because before hand everyone was leaving when the law stated pubs had to stop serving alcohol (11pm) so everyone leaving pubs at the same time absolutely pissed out of their heads caused fights, stabbings, robbery, vandalism ect. Now it seems to be a steady trickle of people leaving at various times creating less crowds and less trouble.

This is what I'm thinking of, OrganisM. Not this particular instance, which I had no knowledge of, but the idea behind it.

[OrganisM]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

I kind of see the idea but I'm not sure how it directly applies. Remember that I'm talking about a change of environment and pace as well, though.

[foilman8805]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

edit at foilman: Dude, just cause your trying to sound smart when your posting, doesn't mean you are, so don't bash me.

This is probably the worst argument ever. For example, there's probably not one person over the age of 16 that doesn't know that if you smoke cigarettes, it WILL eventually kill you. It's basically long-term suicide. There is INCREDIBLE amounts of effort put into educating people (especially high school students) about the dangers of cigarettes. Now walk down the street and tell me how many cigarette butts you see. Even if people are educated, they will continue doing what "the majority" is doing. Whether its idiotic or not.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it down a notch. I was making a joke, holy ****. I'm not trying to single you out or bash you, man, but you have to admit that your random hypothetical situations are kind of ridiculous and not apt for comparison.

And I think you misunderstood what I said, because exposure to alcohol will eventually kill you as well. By exposure, I was aiming at exposure to the consequences and the realities through education, not poisoning yourself with cigarettes and alcohol until you literally die from it.

[OrganisM]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

ryan, i've tried to be nice about it, but your arguments are terrible and your examples make absolutely no sense. "I like pears so buttsex can give you cancer!" is mostly what i'm getting. did you read my post about the subject? and if so, can you refute what i'm saying with evidence in what you've seen without using pure hypotheticals?

[jewpinthethird]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

So, I just turned 21. As a result, I will be voting against lowering the drinking age.

ps.

The people who DIE from getting drunk are an extreme minority. Should we raise the age of being allowed passage on an airplane to 18 because planes have crashes before? No, it makes no sense.

Hahahahaaha.

[OrganisM]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

The people who DIE from getting drunk are an extreme minority.

uhh..

[foilman8805]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

uhh..

That's a pretty sobering link.

All of this talk is pretty hypothetical though. I don't think the law is going to be changed anyways, so it's not worth it to get too worked up over it.

OrganisM, I must say that I respect your arguments even though our opinions differ. They are well constructed, intelligent, and definitely provoke thought.

[OrganisM]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

the wonders of google. :P

seems like ryan has yet to fully discover teh interwebs.

edit: thanks, same to you.

ps, your sig makes this thread full of irony.

[ledwix]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

OrganisM is correct to show that, IMO. The relative amount of useless suffering caused by alcohol has to be taken into account. It's a lot more effective at killing unsuspecting people than airplanes are.

I'd also have to agree that the education about alcohol and other drugs here in America is terrible. They show us fake movies and such about bizarre scenarios that make it psychologically appealing.

By the way, what is the point of drinking alcohol? I'm confused, honestly. I've thought about this a LOT, too.

[foilman8805]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

By the way, what is the point of drinking alcohol? I'm confused, honestly. I've thought about this a LOT, too.

I think at first, the honest intentions of those who drink alcohol are focused on it being fun, because admittedly, it can be very fun if you're with the right people in the right environment.

At least, that is the only reason why I have ever consumed it - never for a release or to forget my problems.

However, these intentions can become misguided after prolonged exposure, because as we all know, it is a drug and behavior alters accordingly to an addictive substance.

[OrganisM]

Re: Drinking age lowered to 18?

By the way, what is the point of drinking alcohol? I'm confused, honestly. I've thought about this a LOT, too.

People drink it for a lot of reasons. The two most prominent reasons are enjoyment of the taste and the sensation it causes when used in moderation. Respect the alcohol, the alcohol respects you. At least that's one way of putting it.

The problem is, most folks have very little self control, and that's evident in many areas of our lives, and is one of the biggest reasons for many of this world's problems, as I see it. And what so many forget is this:

Alcohol is a poison.

That is fact. Alcohol is a poison. Used responsibly and in moderation, it is to be enjoyed. Just like with everything else, balance is key. Anything in large amounts can become poisonous. Vitamins in large quantities can destroy your body's filtration system, the kidneys. Sugar is also known as the "white death". Anything in extreme excess is bad for you, alcohol more so than most things.

Alcohol is not the devil, nor should it be portrayed as such, for propaganda for the "greater good" is still propaganda, and misleading the masses for what one thinks is a good agenda is not the right thing to do. Perception of alcohol needs to change, I think. But that goes hand in hand with many other reforms the world needs to go through before we do our species justice, to put things in a broader perspective.