Why is the legal age to drink alcohol 21 in the US?

[forum poster]

I've always been curious about this.You can go fight in a war for your country overseas at 18, yet don't have the freedom to drink at a bar until your 21 at home?

Do liberals/conservatives here think it should be lowered? And what are the main issues that are in the way of changing this law?

 

[Tamriel Terror]

Because we suck.

But seriously its completely retarded. People are going to drink either way, so putting a drinking age or making a drug illegal can do more harm that good in some cases

 

[Dolomite]

There was once a conservative named Ronald Reagan. He had a wife named Nancy.

Conservatives are generally reluctant to back "whole scale" government reforms that can impact individual liberty.

And then they get elected. And their rich fucking hag of a Hollywood wife needs something to do. And then they demand that your basic idea of liberty march in step with their own.

 

[Lanx]

I've always been curious about this.You can go fight in a war for your country overseas at 18, yet don't have the freedom to drink at a bar until your 21 at home?

Do liberals/conservatives here think it should be lowered? And what are the main issues that are in the way of changing this law?

if you want to know why the arbitrary number of 21, it's b/c back in the 1600's you were an adult and allowed to be a knight at 21

 

[Farmer Br0wn]

Because American has the oldest "children" in the world.

According to Obama and his Affordable Care Act, you're indistinguishable from a dependent minor until your 26!

The baby-boomer generation succeeded in criminalizing any and all forms of dangerous fun.

 

[HockeyBjj]

Something something about Brains not being fully developed until 21 or later as I've heard

 

[oldshadow]

Because when the laws were made you were not an adult until you were 21. Until 1971 you had to be 21 to vote.

The reason it's not lowered now is because there is a large portion of the population that see doing so would increase "the problem" with teen drinking.

You also cannot buy a hand gun until you are 21 in most states.

We could use some up dating to some laws here but it would be a state by state thing.

 

[jk7707]

http://mentalfloss.com/article/19437/why-drinking-age-21

Pretty good summary here. The law was passed in 1984 and basically fucked over any state (by denying funding for highways) that had a drinking age lower than 21.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

Because in this day and age, 18 year olds act and carry themselves like children.

When my grandfather was 18 he worked his own land, had a mortgage and a child.

Shit, my sister is 29 living at my parents' house still and posting on Facebook how "she runs shit."

It's fucking pathetic.

 

[BKMMAFAN]

^ The Feds, led by Reagan, basically commandeered state legislatures into passing laws requiring persons to be 21 to possess/purchase alcohol lest they lose 10% of their federal funding for highways.

 

[oldshadow]

http://mentalfloss.com/article/19437/why-drinking-age-21

Pretty good summary here. The law was passed in 1984 and basically fucked over any state (by denying funding for highways) that had a drinking age lower than 21.

Yea the feds would need to fix that before the the states could lower the age.

 

[Hans Gercmiov]

The older I get the more I wish the drinking and driving age were higher. It's insane they let 16 year olds drive.

 

[uncommon]

Do liberals/conservatives here think it should be lowered? And what are the main issues that are in the way of changing this law?

Im libertarian leaning. I think 21 is right on.

first its got a good ring to it: 21st amendment, 21 years of age.

second i actually gear my philosophy on if it has a strong tendancy to effect others negatively, regulation is actually the greater freedom. (applies to any regulation for the most part)

i think at 18 you are going to be degrees more damaging to others than if you are 21, i dont have data to back this up so i am open to change.

by the way, the penalities for underage drinking (for those that dont know) are light (relative to other consumption crimes) and i think justice is accurate there as well. its more of a restriction to access idea

 

[sub_thug]

To be fair, when was the last time that you met an 18 y/o that has shown the maturity to make good long-terms decisions for themselves? For all intents and purposes, even 21 y/o's are still a bunch of kids. It seems that people start really thinking and acting like adults around the age of 25.

Not that I think that we should change the laws to fit my world view or anything. That's just how I see things.

 

[MusterX]

Alcohol is probably the most destructive drug ever conceived. Its done more damage to societies around the world than all other drugs combined. So I'm alright with it being 21. Alcohol makes some people get in fights, crash cars, kill people, beat their wives, and an entire host of other illegal activities.

 

[freakyfarley]

Alcohol is probably the most destructive drug ever conceived. Its done more damage to societies around the world than all other drugs combined. So I'm alright with it being 21. Alcohol makes some people get in fights, crash cars, kill people, beat their wives, and an entire host of other illegal activities.

Exactly.

 

[KhabibTheBeagle]

Does anyone in the US, actually stick to that law? 18, is the legal drinking age in my country, but I know very few people who waiteduntil even then, with most starting at as young as 14.

18 seems like a good age to get steaming, but I could handle my shit at about 16. Everyone is different, of course.

 

[Gervinho]

To be fair, when was the last time that you met an 18 y/o that has shown the maturity to make good long-terms decisions for themselves? For all intents and purposes, even 21 y/o's are still a bunch of kids. It seems that people start really thinking and acting like adults around the age of 25.

Not that I think that we should change the laws to fit my world view or anything. That's just how I see things.

18 year olds can join the military and fight oversees....but they are kids? 18 year olds can also get married....so kids can get married?

 

[Darwinambrosius]

The older I get the more I wish the drinking and driving age were higher. It's insane they let 16 year olds drive.

This is the strangest thing about being an adult IMO. I'll be 31 in a few months and I'm genuinely bothered by the things I want a allowed to do at 16/18/21.

 

[KhabibTheBeagle]

Because in this day and age, 18 year olds act and carry themselves like children.

When my grandfather was 18 he worked his own land, had a mortgage and a child.

Shit, my sister is 29 living at my parents' house still and posting on Facebook how "she runs shit."

It's fucking pathetic.

That's accurate, for a lot of people my age. I try hard to be independent, and I'm working on being more economically responsible, and moving out of my parents' place, before I'm 21.

Then, I see these tools, who make out that they're some sort of hustlers, despite the fact that they boast about how many panic attacks they have, per-week, from working a 9-5 retail.

It's embarrassing. They want to be treated as adults, while acting like children.