It’s that time of year when students who have labored through 13 years of school are getting prepared to walk across the stage. It wasn’t that long ago that I made the same walk and entered the world of higher academia. As did almost all the kids at my high school, I went to a sober grad night event, which was relatively redundant to me as I hadn’t been one to drink anyway. Nonetheless, the school and its PTA had raised thousands of dollars for a fun night of fake gambling, raffles, and games.
Almost ironically, fake gambling was the replacement that night for alcohol, at least in theory. At my age at graduation, gambling was just as illegal to me as drinking alcohol.
I suppose it’s important at this point that I explain that I do not condone underage binge drinking. My intent is to question at what age we should consider drinking acceptable. After all, I have two nieces and two nephews and before I know it they will be in high school and embarking on their life’s journeys.
I know from experience, however, that I definitely don’t want them learning about alcohol from their future college (or God forbid, high school) peers. I hope that they learn in a safe environment from those who truly care about them, preferably at home from their parents at their parents’ discretion, just like we learn to gamble.
Statistically you are far less likely to become a problem gambler than a problem drinker. We learn how to gamble at home, mostly informally with parents explaining what a bet or wager is and later playing card and dice games that are almost entirely rooted in our society’s current or past gambling games. We look at alcohol in a completely different way, however, and it’s mostly because of historical hang-ups that still affect us today.
When the temperance movement (a.k.a. the buzzkills) of the 1800s and early 1900s won the day and the 18th amendment passed, banning the manufacture or sale of alcohol in the U.S., it became as clear as white lightning how much America loved its alcohol. Not only did thousands of entertainment, hospitality, restaurant, and of course alcohol manufacturing jobs evaporate, but alcoholism rates went through the roof. The teetotalers hadn’t expected the realities of the legislation they pushed so hard.
When America finally gave up on the “Noble Experiment,” local laws were put in place that seemed sensible immediately following an outright ban. In 1984, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act forced every state to set its drinking age at 21 to avoid losing highway funding, but since then we’ve discovered that such a high drinking age has encouraged the rise of binge drinking. Youngsters are becoming interested in alcohol at younger and younger ages and it’s making it socially acceptable to flaunt the law. After all, how just can the law be if you can sign up to serve your country in a combat zone and vote to elect its leaders but not be trusted with a 6-pack? A law without justice simply begs men to become outlaws.
The vast majority of countries have a legal purchasing age of 18 and most of those do not regulate consumption. This allows parents to talk with their kids and let them try alcohol in a controlled environment without the fear of Child Protective Services breaking down their door and taking their children to foster homes. England, France, and Germany have no consumption age and a lower-than-18 purchasing age and report noticeably lower rates of alcoholism and alcohol-related arrests than the United States. Even 10 states have seen the light and allow for underage consumption with the approval and presence of parents, because they had the sense to understand that having a Blue Moon or Sierra Nevada with your dad is far different than buying a handle of Smirnoff and going over to a friend’s house party.
University and college officials have come out to denounce the current drinking age as well through what is being called the “Amethyst Initiative.” They point out that uncontrollable binge drinking has become a plague to freshmen and sophomores who, being outside their family homes for the first time dive headfirst into booze without knowing their limits. The reckless abandon has led to alcohol poisoning, injuries, and deaths, as if the bad grades weren’t enough… The public petition has been signed by over 135 various university chancellors and presidents and is regularly adding signers.
We need to move alcohol education back under the umbrella of the family home. First, we must eliminate the consumption age in the remaining 40 states so that parents can teach their children to respect alcohol and then we must lower the purchasing age to stifle the recklessness of our young people.
To all of you who are graduating this year, I wish you all the best, but please don’t get drunk. As much as I have an issue with the way our system is set up, that is no excuse to defy it. The changes I’ve mentioned here are long-term and require societal progress. In the meantime, just go to your grad night celebration and have a good time there.
Congrats and be safe!
Devon Minnema is a 19-year-old Woodland Community College student, small businessman, and farmer in Dixon
