College presidents seek debate on drinking ageI'm way past - I mean waaaaaay past the age of 18, so this idea doesn't give me any sort of dance in the pants, but I'm sure teeny-boppers everywhere are getting all excited.
Mon Aug 18, 9:57 PM ET
College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.
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Society has pretty much determined that once someone turns 18, they're an adult. They are now entitled to all the priveleges of an adult, and they are also personally responsible for their actions as an adult.
They are entitled to vote for their leaders, they are able to fight and die for their country, and they will also be charged as an adult for any crimes against society.
Now don't get me wrong, I think that for the most part, 18 year olds are idiots. Most usually don't have enough sense to make wise decisions, such as who to vote for. Most aren't mature enough to know why they are going to war.
But on the same token, most 21 year olds aren't any smarter.
Personally, I think that since society has decided someone is able to participate in all the other facets of society at that age, they should also be able to decide whether or not they want to buy booze at that age. If they do break any laws, then treat them as any other adult would be treated.
However, as we found during prohibition, making booze illegal sure as hell didn't make it go away. It only spawned a different set of crimes. And minors are doing just that.
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