I think the key thing we need to break down here isn't kid's resolve to drink, moreover the fact that a lot of anti-alcohol people seem to not look at things rationally and instead prefer to take the extreme view.
Having a drink or two once in a while isn't going to mean that your kid goes out and starts stealing quarries or people or anything. That's not how it happens. Most young people don't go out to get completely off their faces. For me, those that do seem a little stupid. At least their actions are. Personally, from my experience, if you've got to get so blind drunk you don't know what you're doing to enjoy the company of your 'friends', you might want to find some real friends. Me and my friends go to our local pub, have a few drinks (3 or 4), play some pool, then go to someone's house and watch a film. As of yet, I've had no inclination to turn into some drunk, abusive hermit.
I used to be anti-drinking. I just never saw the point in it and thought it was a bad thing. This was mainly based on the experience of someone I knew who was one of the "Man, I got so drunk I didn't know what I was doing" friends of mine. Anyway, I went down to said pub a while back with my brother and some friends and we just had a few drinks and had a good time. I got 'merry' (not properly drunk, but just enough to feel a bit funny and relax a bit more), and that was all. I didn't feel the need to drink the bar out of business, simply because I didn't need to. Now, when we go out, I'll have a few whiskey and cokes and maybe some vodka-based drink, just enough to get a little drunk. I usually find I just generally have a bit more fun like this. That's not to say I don't have fun otherwise, but as someone said "It just fits". Not to mention I get awesome at pool
With regards to "If you lower the legal drinking limit there'll be far more drink driving" - it doesn't happen. The drinking limit here is 18, and NO-ONE in my age-group (17-19) would even think of drinking and driving, and if they did they'd probably get stopped by some of their friends. In reality, it's older people who seem to do it most. The majority of my extended family are police, and they have many tales to tell of the "drunk old farmers" driving home after a night on the tiles. One drove over three huge piles of gravel and dirt on the side of the road by some roadworks simply because he didn't know they were there. My uncle got him out of his car and the man fell over because he simply couldn't stand up. He was 47, so there's not a correlation at all of age vs. maturity.
By the way, just to put it in perspective, I've just turned 17 (December 29th). My parents know, and don't hugely mind (although my Mum doesn't dig the taxi service she provides me with
). My Dad is one of the higher-ranking policemen in our local station, and he knows that I'm not going to 'drink to excess', and also that the majority won't. We only have a population of around 7,500 people in a 5 mile radius, and the younger under-age drinkers there who are going to go out solely to not know what they're doing are well known, as are their haunts, and typically these people are stopped. Also, the pub staff at our local pub know that the majority of our group are underage*, but they know we aren't going to go and get drunk. If they think we will they usually politely remind us to stop.
A point someone here made: "If, in America, you're allowed to drive a car on the road when you're 16, and are therefore deemed safe enough to juggle other people's lives, why can't you aim your own life and choose to drink or not until you're 21?" It seems a fairly valid point. Speaking in numbers terms, I'd imagine more people have died as a result of car-related accidents than people dying from alcohol abuse (in the 16-21 age range, and I suppose in general). Obviously alcohol related accidents like falling over, etc. are going to be higher, but I mean serious stuff. If you're in a car doing 60 and you hit another car, it's not the same as stumbling into another member of the public.
I don't agree with "If you let your children drink you're a bad parent." It's not like that at all. In fact, personally, I'd say if you kept a tight leash on your children and stunted their growth into their true potential personality that would be worse. It's the same as owning a pet - if you have a cat and keep it shut in one room then it's not going to grow up "normal", whereas if you let it go outside and explore it'll understand the world better. That analogy is weaker than a new born baby, but it serves my point - these are things your children will experience. In the same way as you wouldn't just let your kid go out and drive on the open road without lessons, how can there be harm in letting them try alcohol? I know it's breaking the law, but riding on the pavement (side-walk, whatever
) on a bike is against the law and most parents promote that.
Anyway, it's 1am. I really should be in bed...
School tomorrow, dammit.
Mark.
*At least, I think they do...
