I see this as a failure of parenting, not to teach our children about responsible alcohol use. I joined the service for my country in 1969, this was not an issue with our generation as the idea was if you were old enough to die in vietnam you were old enough to have a drink. I don't know that i feel much different now. I have a 21 year old son, he had parties in his teens and i supervised and removed all keys first and they all slept over. Funny benefit now is he really doesn't want to drink as he had a fair chance to make his own mind up after the facts. Push your will on somebody else and it guarantee's resistance.

A government decision based on trend? Any associated societal changes that might have contributed to the increase which won't be solved by a somewhat simple legislative action with questionable enforceability on all but the serving piece? To me it sounds more like the under 18 crowd could just become clever about indulging their desire for alcohol. Just curious as I have yet to see moral legislation work in the US if patterns are already developed, our war on drugs being an unfortunate example.

Everyone brings up the whole "you can fight in a war therefore why can't you take a sip of alcohol legally?"

For me, it's the fact that there are responsible teenagers 18-21 that are doing it, and getting their lives ruined because they got caught doing it. I know they shouldn't be doing it at all since it is against the law, but it is an unnecessary law that is getting kids kicked out of high school, colleges, losing employment and opportunities to contribute to the community in general. It's a law, but it's an unnecessary law--that is the main reason why I think the drinking age @ 21 is a bit too extreme.

It is a pointless drug, but so are cigarettes. Have both or none at all. Contradictions suck.

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It annoys me that MADD always mentions underage drinking when somebody pushes to lower the drinking age to 18. Yet at the same time they're deemed adults, so which is it? Are they adults or aren't they? The drinking age was propelled to 21 by unreasonable thinking, mostly due to MADD's influence in the first place. If science supports it, then they might have something, but then again how can they account for alcohol-related fatalities having reached their highest level in the last decade?

Prohibition didn't work, so why should it for an even smaller percentage of legal adults from 18-20?

Exactly, but threat teenagers as adults and equals according to how responsible they are, and they're more likely to turn into reasonable and responsible adults. I don't understand why the older generation has to always spurn the younger generation by thinking that just because they're older they know best. Sure experience comes with age, but these are a generation of individuals who have matured enough to think for themselves, why not treat 'em as such?

I beleive that the drinking age should be lowered, but not abolished totally. As we all know many young children would not do well with unrestrained drinking and would abuse it. Though as a person is a teenager it is important that they learn their drinking limits before they are able to drive. What I propose is that it is legal to drink in the home, and to drink outside the home but only with drinks that are 5-10% alcohol until the teenager reaches 18. At 18 I beleive they should also be able to drive. This would let teenagers learn their drinking limits with less risk and discourage them rebelling against parents and the law by drinking. Seems like an ok idea as they do it in Europe and it works.

Personally I see the drinking age as a compelte failure anyway-cerrtainly it is Britian where most people are drinking from when they're 14 or younger and I imagine that its the same case in America where the drinking age is 21 (In some states I think, though not in others). As a frequent underage drinker, I can say that the limit seems to make the whole bringing problem worse, not better, people just drink more, quicker when there underage. It goes like this, you get your pint, worried your going to be caught, down it, and then you want another one-either that or you resort to getting alcopops and pretending there fruit juice.

A drinking age at 21 is rediculas, think about it, your legally an adult at 18, you can have sex at 16 (I think thats the case in the US,) you can kill yourself through smoking at 16 in some states, yet you can't have a beer until your 21? Thats just going to icnrease drink-driving rates amoung the younh and is a grave restriction of personal liberty.

I'd argue for a drinking age of 16 at the most 18.

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