If you haven't read it already, you should check out Tom Wark's excellent editorial on the drinking age of 21 and its moral incomprehensibility in the face of war. Not to mention its very spotty enforcement.
Tom takes on the formidable MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), who like all zealots began a justifiably enraged movement against an extreme (drunk driving) and ended up by becoming extremists of the shrillest kind.
As I sit here in New York, preparing for a couple of days to visit my daughter in Richmond "Capital of the Confederacy" Virginia, I note how often underage people are served in this toddlin' town, especially, I assume, when they are with gray-haired oldsters. A 20-year-old NYU student? Only the best for her -- she knows half the sommeliers in town anyway. A 15-year-old French kid? No one blinks at serving him beers with his Thai dinner. Not all young people are as charming and responsible as these kids, but many are.
Here's an idea that may pacify MADD and give kids a break: Lower the drinking age to 16, raise the driving age to 18 -- or 20 -- with a special licence if they drive an electric car. That'd please the Sierra Club too.
Gosh, it feels good to propose a world-improving solution to a cluster of big problems while I'm still sipping at my morning coffee.
obviously off to a good start. i hope the rest of your day continues in fine fashion with you solving even more world problems.
Posted by: Fredric Koeppel | August 21, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Thanks. I feel pretty good about my new, purpose-driven life.
Posted by: Strappo | August 21, 2008 at 10:47 AM
Tom takes on the formidable MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), who like all zealots began a justifiably enraged movement against an extreme (drunk driving) and ended up by becoming extremists of the shrillest kind.
Posted by: USA Answers | August 21, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Drive at 16, drink at 18, legalize cannabis, live long, and prosper.
Posted by: Biker Joe | August 21, 2008 at 11:09 PM