For anyone out there who's a parent of 15-to-22 year-old, I would think this a no-brainer: Absolutely not! Yet, when I caught the 7PM newscast, I was incredulous at what I was hearing: several college Presidents in favor of this!!!

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I personally think the legal drinking age should be raised!

How about raising the age to 21 for being in the Military and leaving the age for alcohol at 21? That seems to be the big gripe. Oh they can be soldiers at 18 but can't have a beer. Sooooo we will say 21 to enlist in the Military and 21 for beer. Good?

msnbc.com video: Lower the drinking age?

Welcome to the Amethyst Initiative

From the Amethyst Initiative website:

"Twenty-one is not working

A culture of dangerous, clandestine “binge-drinking”—often conducted off-campus—has developed.

Alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students.

Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.

By choosing to use fake IDs, students make ethical compromises that erode respect for the law."

I think the idea is to try and eliminate the binge drinking and to lessen the appeal of alcohol by removing the taboo factor. While it might indeed lower some types of drinking, I think it would risk making alcohol more readily available for high school student while increasing alcohol related traffic deaths.

quote:

Originally posted by *~*M*J*~*:
How about raising the age to 21 for being in the Military and leaving the age for alcohol at 21? That seems to be the big gripe. Oh they can be soldiers at 18 but can't have a beer. Sooooo we will say 21 to enlist in the Military and 21 for beer. Good?

*M*J* wins my vote!

I have no issues with the legal drinking age remaining at 21. Personally, I would like to see the legal age to drive increased.
I think we (parents, society) have done a very poor job of teaching our youth the concept of responsiblity and mortality. Certainly 21 is not a magic age for becoming responsible but it does give an individual 3 more years to hopefully do a better job of managing their alcohol consumption and not doing stupid things like driving while intoxicated.