My first beers were when I was far younger than anyone would debate was an appropriate drinking age. And this beer was purchased by a friend's father for my friend and I to drive around town and drink while driving a car underage as well. Hardly anything a responsible parent should have done. Fortunately his mother called the police and had us pulled over before we became the topic of one of those drivers ed class talks from the popo.
At that time, the legal drinking age for beer in most states was 18. We drank a lot between that night and when we turned 18. I wouldn't call much of it binge drinking, but a lot of of was no more responsible than the night we drove around town with a Mustang full of beer at 14 years old.
The "Tappa Kegga Bud" mindset that these college presidents believe would be averted by lowering the drinking age is bred by our failure to inform young people more than when it is decided that they can legally drink.
All in all, I'd rather see the legal age for liquor to remain at 21 and lower the age for beer to 18. I'd also rather see young people being educated and informed about responsible alcohol consumption rather than expecting legislation to be a silver bullet.
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Don't always trust the opinions of experts.
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