The drinking age of 18, that is. I've hated and bitched about the federal drinking age since it was instituted. For what it's worth, I was 18+ at the time the law was implemented, so it didn't affect me at all. However, I find the law, as well as the strong-arm tactics of the feds, to be completely at odds with personal liberty. There are even some self-described conservative pundits who want to raise the drinking age to 25 or higher (Ross Mackenzie, I'm looking at you). My reply to scolds like those? Blow me.

Let's examine the things that you can do and are responsible for at the age of 18:

• You can be drafted, if necessary. If not, you can still enlist and go to a foreign land and risk life and limb.
  
• You can vote in pretty much any election in this country, including but not limited to, federal elections, including those for the presidency.
  
• You can -and will- be tried as an adult for any crime that you commit.
  
• You can legally enter into contracts, which are binding(some states may restrict that to 21 in certain instances, I suppose)
  
• You can get a job, work hard and pay taxes.
  
• You cannot, however, enjoy a beer at the end of a hard day.
  

Radley Balko revists the drinking age in this article, which I highly recommend. Here's one of my favorite quotes:

The age at highest risk for an alcohol-related auto fatality is 21, followed by 22 and 23, an indication that delaying first exposure to alcohol until young adults are away from home may not be the best way to introduce them to drink.

Emphasis mine. Notice that the magical age of 21 isn't quite so magical.

Update: Not surprisingly, Bill Quick and I are on the same page.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:36 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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