Drinking Age Vs War Age

[shimshamsam]

if you really wanna drink legally before 21 w/o enlisting, just take a trip to Europe. most places in Europe have a legal drinking age of 16-18 ish

[[LB]]

if you really wanna drink legally before 21 w/o enlisting, just take a trip to Europe. most places in Europe have a legal drinking age of 16-18 ish

thats why Europeans are so much more responsible is because they're patient enough to wait to be 18, thats not that old. Every developed country in the world has a drinking age of 18 (save middle eastern countries). when you set the age to 21, people don't want to wait to be 21 and because they are breaking the law they binge drink. If the drinking age was 18 in the states id gladly wait until i was 18 to have my first beer, Edited January 18, 2007 by [LB]

[Apollo]

I think it is rather stupid that most everything becomes legal at the age of 18 and a person can go to war and die, but they cannot go out with friends and drink. The fact that drinking is illegal doesnt stop most people underage from drinking anyways

[hmpitags2006]

if you really wanna drink legally before 21 w/o enlisting, just take a trip to Europe. most places in Europe have a legal drinking age of 16-18 ish

Just go to mexico If you can see over the bar and look old enough they will give you a beer

[[LB]]

if you really wanna drink legally before 21 w/o enlisting, just take a trip to Europe. most places in Europe have a legal drinking age of 16-18 ish

Just go to mexico If you can see over the bar and look old enough they will give you a beer

youd think so but i think they are started to crack down a little. I went to mexico with my friend and I had a fake and he didnt, but hes got a beard so he looks older. anyways they served me a shitload of booze that night, and refused to give him one drink, which i though was outrageous.

[ASUSEAN1]

we just need every state government to protest and cange it back to 18, i mean who needs state highway money anyway? construction is rediculous and usually causes more traffic than the frst place

[seppaku]

I think they should lower the drinking age to 19....im 17 and i dont get id'd half the time ...on the war issue i dont know...i think by 18 you should have an idea of what you want in life, if you want to enlist than enlist...we do live in america ( kind of off topic i guess but they should do something about the draft, honestly i would hate to be drafted to fight in a war thats not politically correct )

[McDarragh]

Australia Drinking age is 18 - personally i think this is fine - most people start earlier than that anyway...

Also maybe add to this topic the issue of being legally allowed to engage in sex at 16 and not being able to drink till 21 - seeming this is kinda an American discussion

[Gex]

The government says:
you can kill a man with your bare hands but your too irresponsible to hold a beer with those same hands.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't the same gov't (administrations and times) who said those =) I do like that, though.

There's way too many stupid young people in the USA (myself included) to even consider lowering the drinking age.

Me, too.

From what I view, most of my students make a careful decision to serve in the military--and they take it seriously.

Some time I'll have to analyze why there is so much difference between my students here, and those I had in Europe.

Pt 1: I agree, I have a good friend who will be joining the Airforce about two weeks after I return to the country. No one really jokes about going into the military, if you do it you do it for a reason. For some people its the fasttrack and education, and for some its patriotism, but those looking for the rewards darn well know what they get comes at a cost.

Pt 2: (Edit: Well, I thought back on this, it I thik it sounds a bit ahrsher than I meant it too. My point is merely that the school systems are very different, and those who haven't seen both can't really judge the strengths and weaknesses of the other. And I as well as any know ours has some serious faults.) Please expand on this, I'd love to know your take; I'm curious as to what its like in other countries. I'm studying in Murcia, Spain, at the moment, and all I can say is its a joke in my school. Just pretend to pay attention, take the easy trimesters (I passed the first ones and I couldn't even have a half-fluid discussion in Spanish), and then take you Selectividad to go to your $1000 college, all the while laughing at the American education system. Sorry guys, but I'd love to see them now going through my Bio II class last year - memorizing proteins and their purposes, studying entire chains (ATP-ADP, etc.), and being expected to be able to expand on it like it was second nature when the test came around. I mean, it wasn't insanely difficult (I'm a Bio fan and was on good terms with the teacher ['Nam vet], he told me partway into second semester that I might as well quit doing my homework and tests, because I'd still have an A - Why can't every teacher tell me that?), but plenty of people failed and dropped, and getting to know these kids I don't think it's something many of them could do, and that's not even considering Senior classes. I'm in the Social Sciences course and in Lengua (Spanish) we've diagramed sentences all year, and read a novel and a half (I hate Lorca). Admittedly, the classes are based on tracks here, but I feel that a broad base goes a long way. I'm pretty sure that not all of Europe is like this (seemingly easy), but I think the American school system is being misrepresented in many areas. And long live extra-curriculars, what's the deal with there not even having soccer teams over here?

I find kids to be rowdier and more rebellious during class in the States, but those are the same kids who are excelling in standardized tests and putting in extra effort on class projects. Plus, school days seem just a bit too long in the US - jsut enough to build up extra anxiety in the students.

thats why Europeans are so much more responsible is because they're patient enough to wait to be 18, thats not that old.

I thought that to before coming here. I now disagree. I blame it on the fact that they drink at bars, so there's short supply of cheap food and water, which makes the hangovers worse, so they don't get trashed as much. But when they are, they don't seem overly responsible to me. Also, most people where I'm at have terribly low alcohol tolerances, so you wouldn't think they'd be drunk after drinking there couple glasses of wine, but they are. They jsut like me and too stubborn to admit it. Personal observances of a sleevt portion of Murcia, once again.

youd think so but i think they are started to crack down a little. I went to mexico with my friend and I had a fake and he didnt, but hes got a beard so he looks older. anyways they served me a shitload of booze that night, and refused to give him one drink, which i though was outrageous.

I'll bet you they knew you were underage, or at the least didn't care enough to think about it. As long as you have an ID, their butts are covered. If you get busted later, you're in trouble for using a fake, they can say that you had an ID so they had no way of knowing it wasn't real. Your poor bud didn't have his insurance card, I feel sorry for him =/ Plus, this trick doesn't work for people like me who live in Illinois >.<



Okay, so my own thoughts: If a man decides to join the Army at 18, his drinking age should be whatever age he is, as long as he's not on duty. Our soldiers need something to cut the nerve. If he's been irresponsible, his privilege should be revoked, or he might well be signing his death warrant. A lot of people really don't like us, and a drunk and obnoxious American is probably a ripe target. But really, I'm all for shipping out some cigs and quality beer for them, its because of them that I can go to college next year instead of going to war. I've seriously considered enlisting, but I think I might be more of a use at college =P All 140 lbs of me.

As for those who aren't enlisted, I'm really starting to think 21 is a good age. Too many people without ambition in this world, who'd jsut rather sit around and have a beer or 5. I personally like to go do something challenging (Paintball tournaments, scholastic competitions, theatre, building a hooka lounge) and then have about 20 double bocks (so I like to exaggerate). But not everyone's like me, a lot have beer belly's before their legally enticed to. I don't think the penalties should be as harsh or the enforcement as rough as it is in some places. Drinking and driving, by all means yes, and I say that having friends who do it. That's actively putting others in danger. Having a house party where no ones going to be leaving (and there's no record of alcohol poisoning >.>) isn't actively putting others in danger. And many times parents are present in my town, not becuase they don't care what they're kids do but because they did it when they were kids, and if something goes wrong they can take action as needed.

Also, with a slighter lenience, people would try drinking with their friends before going to college, and would hopefully then avoid the binge drinking associated with inexperience.

That's not to say I haven't stumbled through public streets at an early age, had way too much fun at an open bar in the British Virgin Islands for a week, or sat puking my guts out on a couch watching the TV Guide Channel while my friends when to Denny's in a city half an hour away, had their fun, and returned to find me still weaving around on the couch. I like to think that God's penalty for me on that matter is the fact that I've never had one of those memory-lapses most people get when they've gone over board - I remember everything as clearly as if I'd been sober (which for me isn't too clearly, I've never ahd a good memory). So I can accurately describe how I managed to lose 12 pounds in one night (brought me down to 130, lol) while my friends probably gained about 12.

Peace ^^ I've got to get dressed for a Chamber Music concert I'm going to - Mozart, Brahms, and I forgot the third piece. Edited February 5, 2007 by Gex

[prime]

just one of the reasons i dont vote

[KaSG]

Just come to Denmark if ya'll wanna drink.. I started drinking when I was 14. Many of us do... The legal age is 16, but the shops sell it to the peeps anyway (Well maybe not if you're 12). Actually drinking is a great tradition in Denmark For Americans it might sound crazy, but it's not a problem actually. Allow the youth to try it, and they will find a balance in their way of drinking. I know I did, and my friends also.

On the other hand, we can first get our drivers license when we're 18... Edited February 19, 2007 by KaSG

[kornkitten42]

on the base (about 15 minutes from my house...), you can drink if you're enlisted or an officer and under 21. They do it all the time down here. I know several guys that go to the bars on and around the base and they don't care. They feel the same way, if you can serve your country, you can get served a beer!

[popete]

there was a just a law passed here in Wisconsin saying that people in the arym under 21 are allowed to drink when they are 18 if its on base. So at the local army base bar 18 year olds that are enlisted can drink.

[ghostofdavid]

Now that is a law I can get behind.

[DizzyGuy]

Well.... the whole reason that the age is 21 is to keep liquor out of high school... And that's retarded. Making it illegal makes people want to do it that much more... and have I meantioned how easy it is to get liquor in high school anyways? Dude, it's everywhere. Worst case, make the drinking age like 19... hell, here in Bama you have to wait till you're 19 to "legally buy tobacco" anywyas

[meeheeheeheehee]

there are statistics that prove that there are less deaths with a higher drinking age. to be honest maybe we should raise the age to enlist. theres no need to endanger young lives this day and age

[ghostofdavid]

The United States Army is a volunteer. No one is making them do anything they do not want to do.

[martamus]

all i can say it is just a number..... and anyone that wants it can get it..... look at any college

[popete]

the army isn't voluntary, you HAVE to sign up for the draft once you turn 18. Edited February 25, 2007 by popete

[ghostofdavid]

That does not change the fact that active duty in the military is voluntary. If you disagree with the draft and want to register anyway, you can register as a C.O. and never take up arms.

Everyone that joins the army now does so because they want to, not because they were drafted for it.

Signing up for SS is quite a bit different than joining the army. Don't believe me? Try going to a barracks and grab a m4.