Ok it's been a while since I've made a thread no one responds to, so here goes...

How is it that people are allowed to join the military at age 18 and are not allowed to drink until they are 21? This is something that I've always asked myself.
At 18 you are obviously not ready to drink but of course it's ok for you to go die in a war that you don't even believe in(sarcasm...).

Maybe the drinking age is 21 to prevent drinking and driving accidents, but then how come you can get your license at 16(in some states only I know, but still)? So I don't think that's really the answer.

I just find it so...just dumb! How can people be so ****ing stupid as to think that at 18(you're still a kid really) you are ready to "fight for your country" but are not ready to drink?! (I'm not saying this because I think the drinking age should be lowered, but because it's something I've always asked myself).

So anyway if anyone has something to say, (anything!) I'd love to hear your views on this.

quote:

Originally posted by soccergirl04:

quote:

Originally posted by marine16:
The arguement is still flawed. Just because someone is responsible enough to serve in a war does nto eman they are nessecarily mature enough to drink.

Shouldn't they be mature enough to handle the emotional effects of killing someone? The way your putting it, they're still children and children can't handle the effects of killing anyone. Don't you think that killing somone as a child would case more emotional effects than drinking?

Actually thats not entirely true, children, or adolecents or young adults actually dont think about the effects that killing people has, and they think that everyone else is just as invincible as they are.

quote:

Originally posted by marine16:
The arguement is still flawed. Just because someone is responsible enough to serve in a war does nto eman they are nessecarily mature enough to drink.

Shouldn't they be mature enough to handle the emotional effects of killing someone? The way your putting it, they're still children and children can't handle the effects of killing anyone. Don't you think that killing somone as a child would case more emotional effects than drinking?

The arguement is still flawed. Just because someone is responsible enough to serve in a war does nto eman they are nessecarily mature enough to drink. Maybe someone is mentally mature enough to drink at 18 but the majority of people are not physically mature enough to drink at 18. People are still growing and their braind is still developing at an incredible rate when someone is eighteen and school hinders this.

The maturity needed to fight in a war is compeltley unrelated to the maturity needed to drink alcohol.

Soccergirl, I don't think you understand what I am saying. If you prescribe to the arguement that simply being old enough to fight in a war means someone can drink you also have to believe that if people are old enough to breath they can smoke or if they are old enough to have money they can gamble.

And your right about the OKC bombing, those people did not have a choice when they died, but they did die. So if they are old enough to die, why aren't they old enough to drink? It has nothing to do with choice, it has to do with the fact that they are in the same situation.

You're right, military service is a choice. They choose to go into the service without any reservations. If they choose to go into the service why does that mean they should drink? Choosing to do something does not always open the door for you to choose something else. When I chose to open a checking account at 9, I should be able to choose to gamble - by your arguement. Or when I choose to carry, when I was 13, I should be able to choose to buy smokes, by your arguement.

Service mean could rink, regardless of being 18, till the mid 1980s. Do you think they chaanged that for no reason at all? Well, they didn't and they changed it with great opposition from the alcohol companies. I will let you guys research this further, it will be a good excersize for you.

Here is some info for you people to snack on...

"The problem with the arguments for lowering the legal drinking age is it is simply not in the best interest of the public's safety to do so"

"But the lower drinking age begin to take a toll on the nation's highways. The number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities began to rise at alarming rates, and a high percentage of those involved young drivers." Looks like I was wrong, drunk driving was a factor in raising the age.

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that raising the drink age to 21 has reduced traffic fatalities involving 18- to 20-year-old drivers by 13 percent and has saved an estimated 19,121 lives since 1975. Twenty of twenty-nine studies conducted between 1981 and 1992 reported significant decreases in traffic crashes and crash fatalities following an increase in drinking age"

"The number of intoxicated youth drivers in fatal crashes dropped 14.3 percent from 1983 to 1994 -- the largest decrease of any age group during this time period -- indicating that the higher legal drinking age simply saves lives."

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/teens/a/aa010730a.htm

Now don't get all defensive Marine but I don't think you really got my point. If you read the other posts you'll see.

To sum it up, basically I think that it's ridiculous that someone is considered mature and responsible enough to kill people, fight for their country and even die and are not considered mature enough to drink. Maybe if someone isn't responsible enough to drink he should not be considered responsible enough to handle weapons(even kill people) and die.

quote:

You have a good argument, but I don't necesarily agree with it. Almost everything death you mentioned was caused by something that they person did not have a choice in.

Sorry, I meant almost every*** not everything.

quote:

Originally posted by marine16:
Drinking and getting killed in a war are completley unrelated.

If you adopt to the arguement, that if you are old enough to die for your country you should be able to drink, you must believe in the fact that even infants should be allowed to drink - since children died in the Oklahoma city bombing and 9/11. Since you liberals claim we have been at war since the Cold War then these people died for their country (This is something I don't believe but you people have implied that it is true.).

If you adopt this arguement you need to say: people who are old enough to inhale need to be allowed to smoke and people who are old enough to have money should be able to gamble.

You have a good argument, but I don't necesarily agree with it. Almost everything death you mentioned was caused by something that they person did not have a choice in. If the infant really wanted to inhale second-hand smoke, then wouldn't they just say so? Oh yeah, I forgot...They can't. If they could, I'm sure they try to do something. If they children in the Oklahoma City bombing really wanted to die, then why didn't they just commit suicide? Another easy answer there. They didn't want to die. They didn't sign up to be in the same place that they knew a bomb was going to go off.

Now if you were actually referrring to military and drinking age, then you would have realized that our soliders had the choice to sign up or not. I'm not talking about when we had the draft or any of the **** like that. I'm talking about present day, 2005. So don't even think about using that argument against me. Our soliders chose to fight for our country, knowing that there was always a possiblity of death. People drinking have the choice to drink or not to drink and how much they consume. If they wanted to get wasted, then go right ahead, but they know it's their fault if they go out and kill someone. They chose to drink. Just like our soliders choose to fight.

Drinking and getting killed in a war are completley unrelated.

If you adopt to the arguement, that if you are old enough to die for your country you should be able to drink, you must believe in the fact that even infants should be allowed to drink - since children died in the Oklahoma city bombing and 9/11. Since you liberals claim we have been at war since the Cold War then these people died for their country (This is something I don't believe but you people have implied that it is true.).

If you adopt this arguement you need to say: people who are old enough to inhale need to be allowed to smoke and people who are old enough to have money should be able to gamble.

On that same arguement why aren't you people screaming about being old enoughh to drive? If you are old enough to drive, which is a right in our country, you should be old enough to die for your country. I don't hear any of you asking for that.

The dirnking age is not at 21 to prevent drinking and driving accidents, I assure you of that. If the goal was to reduce drunk driving accidents we would outlaw drinking all together.

I believe the drinking age is at 21 for a reason. They did not pull a number out of a hat and then laugh at how unfair it was. Consider this... I was able to get booze when I was 18 becsause I knew 21 year olds. I knew 18 year olds when I was 14, so I would have been able to get booze from them at 14. I surley doubt anyone wants someone that young drinking.

lol good point
I don't believe in drinking and driving if I drink its at home or at a friends house not in a car.

your not living if you don't take chances.

quote:

Originally posted by Hydrok:

quote:

Originally posted by gabibff:
(Hydrok)I'm not the only one who drinks and likes to take chances usually my chances depend on myself not everybody else and when/if i get caught the consequences happen to me. Think about it I'm to young to legally drive Do you really think I'm going to drink and drive?I'm not going to endanger somebody's life from my stupidness.


your not living if you don't take chances.

Yeah a lot of people say that... but then they THINK they can drive, and then they kill someone... I've seen it happen, it's a scary thought. But when you grow up you might understand this. Honestly, whats the big deal about drinking anyway, if you need to driink to have fun, then you never knew how to have fun in the first place, because when you get yourself drunk you become others entertainment... when you get old enough, go out to a bar with a bunch of your underage friends and dont drink, watch your stupid friends make complete morons out of themselves and then tell me if it's worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by gabibff:
(Hydrok)I'm not the only one who drinks and likes to take chances usually my chances depend on myself not everybody else and when/if i get caught the consequences happen to me. Think about it I'm to young to legally drive Do you really think I'm going to drink and drive?I'm not going to endanger somebody's life from my stupidness.

Yeah a lot of people say that... but then they THINK they can drive, and then they kill someone... I've seen it happen, it's a scary thought. But when you grow up you might understand this. Honestly, whats the big deal about drinking anyway, if you need to driink to have fun, then you never knew how to have fun in the first place, because when you get yourself drunk you become others entertainment... when you get old enough, go out to a bar with a bunch of your underage friends and dont drink, watch your stupid friends make complete morons out of themselves and then tell me if it's worth it.

your not living if you don't take chances.

(Hydrok)I'm not the only one who drinks and likes to take chances usually my chances depend on myself not everybody else and when/if i get caught the consequences happen to me. Think about it I'm to young to legally drive Do you really think I'm going to drink and drive?I'm not going to endanger somebody's life from my stupidness.

your not living if you don't take chances.

quote:

Originally posted by gabibff:
i don't get that either personally I drink anyways but I think they should lower the drinking age i mean we're going to do it anyways.(LOL)

your not living if you don't take chances.

Sure, but you can take chances that doesn't involve your life, other peoples lives, and breaking the law.

i don't get that either personally I drink anyways but I think they should lower the drinking age i mean we're going to do it anyways.(LOL)

your not living if you don't take chances.

quote:

Originally posted by panterayall:
in texas where my mom was living at the time they lowered the drinking age to 18 because of the vietnam war. after the war though they raised it back up to 21. anyway i think that it is stupid that you can die for your country at 18 but you just cant do it with a beer in your hand.

Oh so it's just stupid, yet again no qualification to your argument.

in texas where my mom was living at the time they lowered the drinking age to 18 because of the vietnam war. after the war though they raised it back up to 21. anyway i think that it is stupid that you can die for your country at 18 but you just cant do it with a beer in your hand.

quote:

Originally posted by ironman07:
i think the drinking age should remain at 21 but if you join the military you should be given some kind of incentive type thing and be allowed to drink under restriction. maybe by issueing a card and allowing a limit to be bought , and only allowing it to be bought with use of the card. that way you dont have a drunkne military all the time but they still can drink befroe they have the chance to die.

Holy crap twice so far in one day, you have spouted off an opinion without looking at the rest of the posts. hell you dont even need to look that far.

So I want you to take your opinion that you just spouted off without thinking and answer these questions:

Why?
What for?
Whats the consequences?
is it worth it?

i think the drinking age should remain at 21 but if you join the military you should be given some kind of incentive type thing and be allowed to drink under restriction. maybe by issueing a card and allowing a limit to be bought , and only allowing it to be bought with use of the card. that way you dont have a drunkne military all the time but they still can drink befroe they have the chance to die.

quote:

Originally posted by bauhaus:
Dont drink and shoot because you might spill beer on your gun.

Thats what condoms are for

Dont drink and shoot because you might spill beer on your gun.