Should Drinking Age be Lowered to 18?

I used to drink. Why I started is rather funny to me. I enjoyed music. I went to the local bars because I have a love of live music. To me, that is something that makes me feel more alive than anything else. It is a method of communication with the audience lending an extra instrument into the mix.

My parents believed that if I went to bars, that it must be assumed that I would also drink. Yeah, you can go to a bar and order water or what we in the south tend to call cola, "coke" without being completely laughed out of the door. After being accused of being a drunk for several years, I did eventually start drinking. I even ended up drinking more than I should have on occassion, so I'm not saying I'm completely innocent here.

What I am saying is that I can understand the pressures to drink. My college life did not include drinking. Mostly because I was an old grandmother when I finally got up the nerve to finish college. Also, I took a lot of online, night or weekend classes when you tend to have fewer of the party folks, or so it seemed to me.

For colleges to come out and publically ask for the drinking age to be lowered to 18 in order to reduce binge drinking on campus may seem like a total stretch. It has happened. CNN.com is running a story about it now. My first instinct is, hmmm. But then I take a look at everything involved.

If you tell a child to not do something, how often do they actually not do it? If they have nothing to base why you are telling them not to do something, then often, they do eventually try it. Depending on what happens, they may or may not try it again. So knowing that they can drink, sometimes does make the act of drinking a little less attractive. True, this is very seldom the case.

I do feel the colleges are right in one aspect. If the drinking age is lowered, then students will not feel that they have to hide their drinking as much, so they will drink more over time, maybe, but probably less at a time. Once the students get started drinking in excess, it is difficult to go to not drinking as much each time.

Then there is the still the view of our young men and women in service. If they are old enough to fight for our country at 18, then should they not be considered an adult and able to make their own decisions about alcohol? My son is almost 18. Before the end of the year, he will be required to register for the draft. I do not want him to drink. I do feel that if he is old enough to give up his life, then he is old enough to make decisions about his life.

So what do you think? Should the drinking age be reduced to 18? Please keep your comments G rated or at least PG rated.