The Drinking Age

The legal drinking age is a topic that has been debated for years. The question I ask is if the intended purpose of the 21 age limit is to curb the consumption of alcohol for those people deemed too young or irresponsible why then do we have more cases of underage consumption and binge drinking on high school and college campuses now that at any time in history?

My opinion is that it's strictly a matter of human nature--we love to do that which we are told we shouldn't or cannot. History is full of these instances, just look at the creation story, Adam ate the apple from the tree after he was told not to; Beethoven was told he had no musical ability; Einstein was considered so dumb at math & science that he was called learning disabled; Napoleon tried to overtake Russia against the advice of many. History is chock full of both success and failures by those who attempted to do or accomplish something after they were told not to.

So if it is intrinsic to our human nature to attempt something after we are told not to, how does the government think that passing a law against under 21 alcohol consumption will work? Obviously during prohibition the law did not work, people still drank, they just had to go outside the law to get their beverage of choice.

Why does the government think it is their duty to pass judgment upon all those under 21 years of age as being too immature to handle a few drinks? Should it not be up to the parents to decide what is the correct age? What business is it of Washington's to determine an arbitrary age whereby everyone who has passed this age is then eligible to drink legally? That would be an assumption that everyone is equal in maturity and responsibility based solely upon their age. Of course we all know that this is preposterous. We are all individuals with differences in background and maturity that is based not upon our age but on our own individual lives and backgrounds. The government needs to back out of our personal lives and worry about Constitutional issues, the only think they are elected for in the first place.

An good article about the drinking age limit can be found here.