I won’t argue for the 21 year drinking age. For one thing, it was passed by federal governmental overreach (taking money from the states and not giving it back unless they passed a drinking age law).
The supposed reason for the 21 year old drinking age is that the prefrontal cortex, which is in charge of impulse control, doesn’t fully mature until the early twenties, and therefore alcohol use before 21 would a) result in more mishaps like car accidents than alcohol use after 21, and b) harm brain development during a critical period. Which would be perfectly sound reasoning if it applied to voting, military service, cigarettes, lottery tickets, etc. If alcohol use is too risky because of an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, then surely voting is too? But if you raised the voting age to 21 you’d have to raise the draft age, too, because it would be barbaric to send people off to die without even a nominal say in the decision to go to war. It’s far more practical to lower the drinking age.
Which would be perfectly sound reasoning if it applied to voting, military service, cigarettes, lottery tickets, etc. If alcohol use is too risky because of an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, then surely voting is too?
Well for one thing alcohol’s effect is to further impair the prefrontal cortex.
But if you raised the voting age to 21 you’d have to raise the draft age, too, because it would be barbaric to send people off to die without even a nominal say in the decision to go to war.
How about applying a phrase permitted to have a beer to someone who is a full, voting citizen?
I won’t argue for the 21 year drinking age. For one thing, it was passed by federal governmental overreach (taking money from the states and not giving it back unless they passed a drinking age law).
The supposed reason for the 21 year old drinking age is that the prefrontal cortex, which is in charge of impulse control, doesn’t fully mature until the early twenties, and therefore alcohol use before 21 would a) result in more mishaps like car accidents than alcohol use after 21, and b) harm brain development during a critical period. Which would be perfectly sound reasoning if it applied to voting, military service, cigarettes, lottery tickets, etc. If alcohol use is too risky because of an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, then surely voting is too? But if you raised the voting age to 21 you’d have to raise the draft age, too, because it would be barbaric to send people off to die without even a nominal say in the decision to go to war. It’s far more practical to lower the drinking age.
Well for one thing alcohol’s effect is to further impair the prefrontal cortex.
Taboo “barbaric”.