The drinking age / Can't we even debate it?

Redrant: I have mixed feelings about lowering the legal age to 18 but the prohibitionist nanny culture is definitely creating a backlash, especially since the prohibitionist see a victory as a springboard to further restrictions. As an example the bar closest to my house is The Rail Station http://www.railstationbarandgrill.com The state smoking ban shut down their smoking caboose. Drinks were not allowed in there, the staff (who made no complaints of secondhand smoke) were "protected" and monitoring was done via camera. There was good signage for the smoking caboose http://www.railstationbarandgrill.com/caboose/index.htm Thus the real goal was to try to make it as difficult as possible for smokers. The same tactic is used by many environmentalists who seem to welcome very high fuel costs despite the devastating affect it has on the "working people" they claim to care about. Greg Lang

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/146/story/234595.html

The drinking age / Can't we even debate it?
Published: Thursday, August 21, 2008

No wonder many people are afraid to open their mouths and challenge conventional wisdom.
Presidents of about 100 of the nation's best-known universities are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 in an effort to curb dangerous binge drinking on campuses. The group, dubbed the Amethyst Initiative, stops short of asking for a change in the law but wants to open up a debate on the issue.
The response? Mothers Against Drunk Driving is urging parents to think carefully about the safety of colleges whose presidents have signed on: "It's very clear the 21-year-old drinking age will not be enforced at those campuses," said MADD's national president.
Rowan University President Donald Farish voiced similar sentiments: "I'm disappointed to see college presidents throw in the towel on this issue. On the other hand, I'm happy to see students who drink go to their colleges" and not Rowan, he said.
Please. Can't we even debate this subject? Has it come to the point where people can't even question certain accepted, politically correct beliefs?

');
//-->
It may be true that 18-year-olds aren't mature enough to handle alcohol. And there are many factors to consider when setting the drinking age beside binge drinking - such as the effect on drunken-driving fatalities, for example.
But it's also true that binge drinking on campuses has reached dangerous levels. A recent Associated Press analysis of federal records found that 157 college-age people drank themselves to death from 1999 to 2005. And there are some who believe, right or wrong, that the 21-year-old drinking age exacerbates binge drinking, pushing it into hiding and enhancing the attraction of a forbidden activity. "If you treat students like children, they're going to act like children," said one senior at Duke University.
The fact is, the debate about whether the 21-year-old drinking age is appropriate has been going on quietly for some time. These college presidents are simply bringing the issue into the public arena.
"I'm not sure where the dialogue will lead, but it's an important topic to American families and it deserves a straightforward dialogue," said William Troutt, president of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.
We agree. Critics can make some convincing and rational points. But we wish they wouldn't vilify the messengers while adjusting their own halos.