Changing the Drinking Age

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26352179/

College and university presidents have added an extra responsibility to their schedules during the week before the beginning of classes this year - a debate on how old their students should be to consume alcohol.

Almost everyone has heard, and understands, both sides of this debate. Many would like the legal drinking age to stay at 21 due to evidence the roads are safer with a higher legal drinking age and the idea that keeping alcohol legally out of peoples' hands should cut back on other dangers involved with alcohol consumption.

Still others contend that, if the standard age in this country for almost everything else is 18 (recognition of adulthood, being tried as an adult in our legal system, buying a lottery ticket, voting in our political system and fighting for our country), surely the legal drinking age should be 18 as well.

Here is the bottom line: if someone wants to come home from work and crack open a beer, the legal drinking age is not going to stop them. Drinking alcohol is a personal choice; not a legal one. There are undoubtedly exceptions to this rule, but most people would agree this is simply the way it is.

The illegality of alcohol goes against the personal rights that many in our country, on both sides of the political aisle, value highly. Even to those who support a high degree of government intervention, the idea of the government limiting their beverage choices must seem highly invasive. So, why keep a law that is 99% unenforceable? Why highlight a personal activity that is, in theory, no different than any other action one could entertain themselves with? Because alcohol is an easily abused substance. Just like we would not want to turn a blind eye to drug trafficking or speeding on the highways due to the predictably disastrous results (as well as the invasion of the right to safety) we would not want to turn a blind eye to alcohol consumption. Here is my idea for a solution:

Allow for responsible alcohol consumption from all of those 18 or older, if not younger. How do we do this? Permit alcohol consumption at these ages in a public setting, such as a bar or a restaurant, but no where else. Bartenders and waitresses should be responsible for monitoring drink intake (for a $.50 charge on each drink, of course). As one gets older, they should be allowed to drink...more drinks. Doing so will allow young adults to drink alcohol while working to eliminate the desire to abuse alcohol behind closed doors in large quantities. One drink could be allowed to a 16 year old, two to a 17 year old, and so on. This will also build up the tolerance of young adults, so that then they are able to drink behind closed doors they will not abuse their privelage. Those participating in this program would have to pass an in-house sobreity test before leaving the restaurant. Businesses would win, law enforcement would be better off, and more importantly, minors could enjoy alcohol.

Similiar policies have been adopted in most countries throughout the world. Have you ever been to Canada? I do not know how to buy alcohol in that country unless I am at the border or at a bar. I have a high value for personal rights. I understand that one should have the ability to drink one night as well as drive home the next without the fear of being hit head-on by a drunk driver. This compromise satisfies both desires while setting up minors to successfully consume alcohol in larger quantities in the future.

If an eighteen year old can be tried as an adult in a court of law and fight for his country, it simply does not make sense to not allow that person to drink a beer. I have been casually drinking since the age of 19, and I can find no rationalization for not allowing this to occur legally.



SPECIAL NOTE:

I hereby predict Joe Biden as V.P. choice for Obama - it makes no sense to choose anyone else. Obama's biggest weakpoint (from a non-biased point of view) is experience, particularly in foreign policy. Joe Biden satisfies these requirements while providing everything that Dick Cheney does for President Bush: he knows how to say what the President is thinking but is not allowed to say, and he knows how Washington works.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL NOTE:

PLEASE WISH DREW TSCHAPPAT A SAFE RETURN FROM MEXICO!