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Post by bulletmagnet on Nov 2, 2008 0:13:18 GMT -6
Perhaps a "softer subject," as the abortion debate quickly veered from intentions.
I believe it should remain at 21, thoughts?
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Post by toXic on Nov 2, 2008 13:33:45 GMT -6
You can die protecting your country at 18, but GOD FORBID YOU DRINK ALCOHOL!
Anyone who is 18 and wants to drink can. Alcohol is easy to get a hold of no matter where you live.
Im not in favor of lowering it, but it wouldn't be that bad of a thing.
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Post by Echo on Nov 2, 2008 13:52:24 GMT -6
I think when people are bound by unnecessary rules they'll break those rules and put themselves in more dangerous situations than if the act were allowed.
I know if I were a parent I'd rather my 18 year old be sitting comfortably in a bar having drinks than cruising around in their car sneaking beer and learning how to break the law at an early age. Kids are going to drink either way, why not teach them how to be responsible about it at an early age?
Be leaving for 2 weeks. Have fun all.
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Post by bulletmagnet on Nov 2, 2008 14:57:46 GMT -6
I think when people have no rules, it just makes dangerous situations more frequent and easier to get into.
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Post by toXic on Nov 2, 2008 15:52:58 GMT -6
He isn't saying there shouldn't be rules, but unnecessary rules. There is no reason you should be allowed to drink at 21 but not 18. You can do everything else at 18. Such as: Vote, smoke, join military, considered an adult. But you better not drink alcohol.
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Post by bulletmagnet on Nov 2, 2008 16:24:54 GMT -6
Does alcohol have harmful effects on the body?
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Post by toXic on Nov 2, 2008 16:40:09 GMT -6
It is rumored to do so. But so does smoking, which people can do at age 18.
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Post by Echo on Nov 2, 2008 18:12:48 GMT -6
Does alcohol have harmful effects on the body? Only when you're young but magically, when you turn 21, the effects disappear...
Most kids go off to college, the first time being without supervision, looking for new experiences and exploring everything they couldn't before, at the age of 18. The law prohibits these adolescents from drinking alcohol for 3/4 of their college life. How many of these kids do you think abide by the law? Plus, every one of these teens that are breaking the law are doing it in excess. If they were able to drink for half their senior year in HS whilst learning moderation under the supervision of their parents I'd be willing to bet binge drinking drops considerably. Instead we've got underage teens sneaking around and getting tanked because they don't know HOW to drink. It sounds silly but they're teaching themselves bad drinking habits because of a law that causes more danger than it prevents.
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Post by Maverick$DK1$ on Nov 2, 2008 21:40:27 GMT -6
Listen here, drinking is bad for you no matter how old you are. It's a proven fact. But people are going to do it if they want to. Personally, I don't give a rat's behind because I'm not going to do any drinkin anyways. But illegal or not, people do it. Why not lower it because we know people are doing it when they're 18. They know what they're doing. They're not little kids. If they wanna screw themselves up, let's watch em so we can laugh when they fall flat on their face. They can do anything else, but God forbid you smoke a ciggarette and drink a beer to? Either raise the smoking age. Or lower drinking age. That's how I see it.
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Post by bulletmagnet on Nov 3, 2008 16:31:05 GMT -6
Anyone consider drunk driving an important issue in this? One of my friends was killed in a drunk driving accident. All because someone got ahold of some alcohol and made the wrong decision, no matter how innocent he was, his life was THROWN AWAY because of it.
An estimated 12,998 people died in 2007 due to drunk driving. You may say a lower drinking age wouldn't effect that, but indeed it would. Of course, 18 year olds will still sometimes find ways to get ahold of alcohol, but let's be realistic. If you were allowed to go buy it yourself, and it was so much easier to get some, it wouldn't just be weekend parties, it could be everyday! Think about the possibility of a family member being killed by a drunk driver.
Do you also honestly think that lowering the drinking age limit would teach them to "drink responsibly?" HA! Yes, allowing them to have all the alcohol they want is going to really fix that problem. When someone is trying to quit smoking do you give them an excess of cigarettes and say, "learn yourself"?
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Post by toXic on Nov 3, 2008 16:40:15 GMT -6
"Each year, approximately 5,000 lives are lost as a result of underage drinking, 40 % as a result of motor vehicle crashes.
Yet drinking continues to be widespread among teenagers, as shown by nationwide surveys as well as studies in smaller populations. According to a recent study, 75% of 12th graders and over 65% 10th graders have consumed alcohol. And when they drink they tend to drink excessively, often consuming four to five drinks at one time. Data shows that 22 percent of 10th graders, and 29 percent of 12th graders have recently participated in binge drinking."
This is from a defense lawyers website.
Look at those highlighted statistic. 75% of seniors. Do you know the standard age of seniors? Seniors are usually 17-18. So 3/4 of them are already drinking, god forbid it be made legal for the part of them that are 18.
When I see that 75% do you know what I see? Those 75% are the ones that will drink and drive drunk no matter if it is legal or not.
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Post by bulletmagnet on Nov 3, 2008 16:47:06 GMT -6
You know what I think when I see 75%?
It's common in school to be friends with underclassmen. 18 year old seniors will commonly be friends with 17 year old seniors, 15-16 year old softmores, blah blah blah. If that percentage of seniors can go grab a drink any time they want and AS MUCH as they want. They'll have plenty for themselves and their underclassmen friends. 9th graders will be grabbing alcohol left and right from their "friends." It's basically being made legal for the whole high school. Beneficial? I don't think so.
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Post by biø on Nov 17, 2008 18:09:12 GMT -6
I agree completely with Echo, mostly because he's right.
Although alcohol is available to most teens, it isn't always easy to A) get B) have a place to consume. This makes it "hard" for most teens to drink. This results in "going balls deep", or heavy/binge drinking.
It's almost like prohibition. The cons that arose from the ban were notorious. Prohibition is repealed, and the crimes that were associated with it nearly vanish. Same idea.
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Post by bulletmagnet on Nov 17, 2008 19:46:38 GMT -6
. Although alcohol is available to most teens, it isn't always easy to A) get B) have a place to consume. This makes it "hard" for most teens to drink. This results in "going balls deep", or heavy/binge drinking. Right, lets allow them an excess, will certainly stop all that binge drinking now won't it?
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Post by biø on Nov 17, 2008 21:35:02 GMT -6
. Although alcohol is available to most teens, it isn't always easy to A) get B) have a place to consume. This makes it "hard" for most teens to drink. This results in "going balls deep", or heavy/binge drinking. Right, lets allow them to drink, will certainly stop all that binge drinking now won't it? fixed. and to answer the question, yes. I've had 6 close foreign exchange student friends. 5 of them were from parts of Europe where the drinking age was 18 or less. Everyone of the five told me that heavy drinking isn't a problem there. They drink casually because it's available to them. And if I'm not mistaken, aren't Europe's DUI rates lower than the United States?
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