It might let a lot of the latent homosexuality in burnout/headbanger culture finally work itself out…

More seriously, I think that any solution to underage drinking is going to create a set of problems. If it’s more restrictive, you just create more lawbreakers. If it’s less restrictive, you give de facto permission for more drinking. An all new set of problems is what you’re going to get, no matter what. I think the trick here is deciding which problems you’d rather have and on what scale. I for one am not convinced that a bunch of 18-year-olds will rush headlong into marriage or the army so that they can drink. On the other hand, if you do let some 18-year-olds drink legally, you can bet your ass they’ll buy for their 18-year-old friends who aren’t allowed…

I think I meant the “drinking apprenticeship” thing to be kind of a laugh–I think I’d call it “drunkardship” or something. I do think that in life, people become appreciators of good booze (and thus more responsible drinkers?) by being exposed to people who themselves appreciate good booze. I don’t know that a formalized apprenticeship would really work. Probably not. But I think that’s true across the board: I’m skeptical about institutionalized public education efforts, like traffic school or DARE. I think they’re usually done in a boring and mechanical way that fails to really change anyone’s behavior. (I saw some numbers on DARE a year or two ago that were pretty damning.) I think that a drinker education program that took the form of a bar crawl, would actually have a much better chance of success than a classroom experience.

1) Yes, your solution of waving the drinking age for enlisted/married people is a far better solution than a blanket one. There will be people though that say “Screw it, let’s get married so we can have a beer!”, and that will cause an all new set of problems.

2) That’s how it’s done in England, and I agree with it. Let the parents educate their children in drinking. Here we have a “Well, here you go, learn to swim on your own!” mentality.

3) Who would determine who the “responsible” drinkers are though?

(and no, I haven’t forgotten about dinner… I swear!)

Anyway. This is a crotchety old 36-year-old’s opinion, so factor that in.

1) I think the formulation “I’m old enough to die for my country, but not old enough to drink?” is a BS abstraction–how often have I heard this from college freshmen who would never dream of enlisting? But it suggests a change that I’d get behind in a big way: keep the legal drinking age at 21, *except for military enlistees.* I think we can take military enlistment as evidence that this 18-year-old, at least, is responsible enough to handle a beer. Heck, do it for marriage, too. Both are life choices that take you off your parents’ tax return.

2) I’d support legislation that decriminalized drinking for 16-year-olds in a parent’s presence or in the presence of another adult whom their parents have designated as a responsible custodian. (I love this idea; I love anything that gives parents of teens some leverage.)

3) Alcohol education class = stupid blow off taught by a guidance counselor. (And who takes a guidance counselor’s advice seriously?) If we’re really serious about this idea of changing how people think about drinking, I think a drinking apprenticeship would be a much better idea. Pair each 17-year-old up with an experienced, serious, but responsible drinker with extremely good taste.

Speaking of credit cards, you should watch that documentary “Maxed out” Yikes!!! Scared the crap out of me.

In Asian culture, this is different as they have different ways of looking at responsibility and obligation. In the States, people in debt declare bankruptcy and say screw their creditors. People who spill coffee and burn themselves sue the place that sold them the drink. People who overeat sue the company that made the snacks. In the U.S., it’s a culture of not being responsible and I have no confidence that giving more privilege will help people grow up any faster.

The U.S. is simply not in a position to offer the sort of freedom to its young people that other countries offer in this regard because of the culture. The culture seems too hell-bent on overindulgence or total abstinence (about everything).

You can only count on a bartender stopping you if you drink too much. If you drive too fast or recklessly, you can kill or be killed with as little as two beers under your belt. As I said, that is what killed my husband’s best friend so it isn’t an abstract notion. Also, studies show that reaction times are markedly altered with relatively small amounts of consumption.

I say the age of conscription should be increased to 21 and I wouldn’t have a problem if everything else were legally changed to reflect 21 being the age where you can legally be an adult. Don’t push drinking back, move everything else forward (except driving which is necessary for work).

No argument about the US and extremes though. Food, cars, drinking, and more.