• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Legal drinking age?

What should the legal drinking age be?

  • Bring back Prohibition.

    Votes: 4 4.3%

  • Older than 21. Raise it even higher!

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • Leave it at 21 (in the USA).

    Votes: 17 18.5%

  • 20

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 19

    Votes: 1 1.1%

  • 18

    Votes: 44 47.8%

  • 17

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • 16

    Votes: 4 4.3%

  • Below 16.

    Votes: 3 3.3%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 15 16.3%
  • Total voters
    92
ChrisL said:
You have it backwards. Your experience is NOT the norm. A lot of parents are NOT responsible. Your suggestion is irresponsible.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of responsible parents out there, otherwise we would have plenty more alcohol related incidents involving teens. You simply do not hear about the incidents where the children/teens are taught to drink responsibly because they are actually drinking responsibly and not doing something that becomes newsworthy.
 
roguenuke said:
Because the drinking age doesn't just affect when a person can drink. You haven't had to face the humility of not being able to enter a restaurant just because you were under 21 but not accompanied by parents apparently. I have. In fact, it sucks. I had no intention to drink, yet I couldn't go in because they are too concerned with the law that says those under 21 cannot drink to recognize that 18-20 year olds live on their own, in fact, live in their own apartments and have jobs.
Click to expand...

Oh my. That is just SO sad. That has to be the most SILLY thing I've heard yet. :lol: OH THE HORROR!
 
ChrisL said:
Oh and BTW, there is NO such right that children should be able to drink alcohol. That is incredibly . . . I don't even know what. I can't even believe people would suggest such a thing. It's retarded IMO.
Click to expand...

18 year olds are not children. Legally, they are adults. Heck, 13 year olds really aren't children. They are teens.

And I'm not even saying that children or even those under 18 should be allowed to purchase alcohol or drink outside their homes, but if their parents want to give them a sip of wine for a special occasion, then it should be up to the parent.
 
ChrisL said:
Oh my. That is just SO sad. That has to be the most SILLY thing I've heard yet. :lol: OH THE HORROR!
Click to expand...

Yes, it is silly, that fear of teenagers drinking leads to such stupid policies or laws even. It is retarded and wrong to restrict alcohol from adults just because some don't approve and wish to in fact go back to prohibition if they could. 18 year olds are adults.
 
roguenuke said:
There are a lot of responsible parents out there, otherwise we would have plenty more alcohol related incidents involving teens. You simply do not hear about the incidents where the children/teens are taught to drink responsibly because they are actually drinking responsibly and not doing something that becomes newsworthy.
Click to expand...

Because that is not what normally happens, and there is NO benefit to society by introducing people at a young age to alcohol. It only increases their chances of becoming addicts. There is no necessity for people to drink in the first place. You DO realize that some people don't even drink?

Also, there are loads of irresponsible parents and teens out there, which is clearly demonstrated every single day. MOST kids are going to party. That is in their nature, and they are going to get drunk. THOSE are facts, whether you want to admit it or not. Children are risk takers, and they WILL in most instances drink to excess. There is absolutely no need and no benefit to introducing them to alcohol at an early age. It is just stupidity.
 
roguenuke said:
Yes, it is silly, that fear of teenagers drinking leads to such stupid policies or laws even. It is retarded and wrong to restrict alcohol from adults just because some don't approve and wish to in fact go back to prohibition if they could. 18 year olds are adults.
Click to expand...

All you have to do is look at the stats, and they prove you sooooo wrong. :lol:
 
ChrisL said:
It shows the detrimental effects rampant alcoholism can have on a society. DERP. Our kids like to party. I don't know. Maybe you've been gone for a while, but I was a teenager who grew up here in the United States with firsthand experience with kids and alcohol and how they behave when they're drunk.
Click to expand...

So did you just decide to ignore the other half of what I said? European teens drink MORE than ours and it's legal earlier, and they have less of a problem.

And you never answered my question. Why do you think you have the right to tell adults what to do with their own bodies? Do you have any respect for liberty whatsoever?
 
RabidAlpaca said:
So did you just decide to ignore the other half of what I said? European teens drink MORE than ours and it's legal earlier, and they have less of a problem.

And you never answered my question. Why do you think you have the right to tell adults what to do with their own bodies?
Click to expand...

Like I said, recent studies show evidence that they are not adults. You can scream bloody hell that they're adults all day long, but it's quite obvious that you haven't been involved in raising one.
 
ChrisL said:
Because that is not what normally happens, and there is NO benefit to society by introducing people at a young age to alcohol. It only increases their chances of becoming addicts. There is no necessity for people to drink in the first place. You DO realize that some people don't even drink?

Also, there are loads of irresponsible parents and teens out there, which is clearly demonstrated every single day. MOST kids are going to party. That is in their nature, and they are going to get drunk. THOSE are facts, whether you want to admit it or not. Children are risk takers, and they WILL in most instances drink to excess. There is absolutely no need and no benefit to introducing them to alcohol at an early age. It is just stupidity.
Click to expand...

On the contrary, as I said, it is what normally happens. The problem is that you and others don't realize it because that responsible alcohol usage doesn't make the news or statistics when it comes to teens because it isn't what is brought to anyone's attention. The squeaky wheel analogy works well here. I've known plenty of people in my adult life who have been very responsible drinkers. And many of them started drinking prior to 21. They were allowed to drink under supervision of responsible adults.

Most kids are not going to party. That is probably one of the biggest myths out there. Even the "parties" I went to while on active duty with underage drinkers weren't anything like you see on TV. You have a few drinks and socialize. Those with a reputation for getting drunk and/or rowdy are normally thrown out of the party, or at least not invited to others. No one wants trouble, and even parties where everyone is of age can lead to problems if people get too rowdy.
 
ChrisL said:
Like I said, recent studies show evidence that they are not adults. You can scream bloody hell that they're adults all day long, but it's quite obvious that you haven't been involved in raising one.
Click to expand...

Then it goes back to what I said to you at the very beginning. In order for you to stay intellectually consistent you need to support raising the legal adult age to 21. That means no voting, no guns, no tobacco, etc. etc. Is that what you're telling me you want?
 
roguenuke said:
On the contrary, as I said, it is what normally happens. The problem is that you and others don't realize it because that responsible alcohol usage doesn't make the news or statistics when it comes to teens because it isn't what is brought to anyone's attention. The squeaky wheel analogy works well here. I've known plenty of people in my adult life who have been very responsible drinkers. And many of them started drinking prior to 21. They were allowed to drink under supervision of responsible adults.

Most kids are not going to party. That is probably one of the biggest myths out there. Even the "parties" I went to while on active duty with underage drinkers weren't anything like you see on TV. You have a few drinks and socialize. Those with a reputation for getting drunk and/or rowdy are normally thrown out of the party, or at least not invited to others. No one wants trouble, and even parties where everyone is of age can lead to problems if people get too rowdy.
Click to expand...

Here is some more information with which you can educate yourself on the typical teenager's brain. Going to argue with the scientists? I don't doubt that you will, but they seem to disagree with your assessment.

Why Teens Are Such Impulsive Risk-takers

Scientists also are researching how the developing brain responds differently to drugs of abuse such as stimulants and examining the periods during which adolescents are most vulnerable to addiction. Research shows that the teenage brain may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of drugs, including increased susceptibility to addiction later in life and emotional and behavioral difficulties, which could persist and become a lifelong disability.
Click to expand...
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Then it goes back to what I said to you at the very beginning. In order for you to stay intellectually consistent you need to support raising the legal adult age to 21. That means no voting, no guns, no tobacco, etc. etc. Is that what you're telling me you want?
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
ChrisL said:
All you have to do is look at the stats, and they prove you sooooo wrong. :lol:
Click to expand...

No they don't. They simply do not show the whole picture. They show a snapshot of the situation. They don't show the responsible drinking. In fact, if you compare the stats, you can see that I am right.

71% of high school seniors in 2010 ever consumed alcohol, yet if all those were doing so irresponsibly, we would see much higher stats for all sorts of things.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
LOL, then nevermind. You're so far off the beaten path you're not worth arguing with. I try not to waste time trying to debate with the extreme minorities.
Click to expand...

No, I'm sorry, but I think a lot of you are out of touch. A lot of you who post here are very intelligent and were probably NOT the typical teen when growing up. I don't mean this to be offensive in any way, in fact it's quite a compliment.

I, OTH, WAS the typical teenager. I was doing the things that MOST of the teens in my high school were doing at the time, and let me let in on a little secret, we were crazy stupid. :lol:
 
ChrisL said:
Here is some more information with which you can educate yourself on the typical teenager's brain. Going to argue with the scientists? I don't doubt that you will, but they seem to disagree with your assessment.

Why Teens Are Such Impulsive Risk-takers
Click to expand...

Sure I'll argue with scientists because they study groups of people and have no idea what every person is like.

Plus this would go back to teaching teenagers to drink responsibly, rather than completely cutting them off from that learning experience.
 
roguenuke said:
No they don't. They simply do not show the whole picture. They show a snapshot of the situation. They don't show the responsible drinking. In fact, if you compare the stats, you can see that I am right.

71% of high school seniors in 2010 ever consumed alcohol, yet if all those were doing so irresponsibly, we would see much higher stats for all sorts of things.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but there is not much "responsible" drinking going on with American teens. :lol:
 
When I grew up the legal age was 21, then Nixon lowered it to 18 as he figured if you are 18 and could fight for your country, you are old enough to drink. Now I guess it is 21 in almost every state, but not sure about that. 21 is probably about right. There are younger ones who have enough common sense and could be drinking from a very early age and handle it. Then there are plenty of people over 21 who can't handle it and do all sorts of stupid things. I do suppose you do have to have a mandatory age limit. So I reckon 21 is just as good an age as any.
 
roguenuke said:
Sure I'll argue with scientists because they study groups of people and have no idea what every person is like.

Plus this would go back to teaching teenagers to drink responsibly, rather than completely cutting them off from that learning experience.
Click to expand...

Right, they are looking at the majority of teen behavior. LOL! You guys are a riot and completely off your rockers if you want teenagers to be drinking AND driving. I just have to laugh at the ridiculousness. :lamo
 
ChrisL said:
Sorry, but there is not much "responsible" drinking going on with American teens. :lol:
Click to expand...

There is a lot, otherwise our stats would be much higher than they are. You can't prove otherwise. You can't prove that a majority are not drinking responsibly because you are not in the lives of every teen out there.
 
ChrisL said:
Sorry, but there is not much "responsible" drinking going on with American teens. :lol:
Click to expand...

That's because prudes like you force them to do it in basements and alleyways, instead of out in the open. Most Germans' first drink is with their parents. How many Americans can say that?
 
ChrisL said:
Right, they are looking at the majority of teen behavior. LOL! You guys are a riot and completely off your rockers if you want teenagers to be drinking AND driving. I just have to laugh at the ridiculousness. :lamo
Click to expand...

I would rather raise the driving age personally.

And no one wants anyone drinking and driving, but laws restricting drinking from all those under 21 does not prevent people, even teens from drinking and driving.
 
roguenuke said:
There is a lot, otherwise our stats would be much higher than they are. You can't prove otherwise. You can't prove that a majority are not drinking responsibly because you are not in the lives of every teen out there.
Click to expand...

I've already proven my point well above and beyond anything you have done on this thread. I've posted links supporting my opinions with scientists who have done actual studies which conclusions agree with my assessments about the typical teen brain. It is impossible to study every single teen, so we use the data that we have, and so far it disagrees with your assessments.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom