All this talk about the drinking age has made me thirsty. This is a topic thirsty college students argue passionately about, while giving the impression that they will die of thirst if they are not allowed a drink. Surprisingly nobody has died, especially given the recent spike in DWIs here at N.C. State.
A typical argument might look like this: “More 18-year-olds were injured in the Army after being allowed to join the Army, so in order to decrease the number of young people who get hurt, we should raise the drinking age.” I suppose it is one of those “restricting our freedoms in the name of safety” things.
It always seems so unfair, since the politicians before us were granted all of the privileges of adulthood at age 18. And people worry about college students “binge drinking” or becoming “alcoholics.” Spare me! There is clear evidence that one can be an alcoholic and hold the highest office in the land (sometimes at the same time!).
Our government officials have a propensity toward all sorts of untoward activities. It is hardly fair that they get to enjoy a brewsky at the end of that day, while we can’t have a spirited celebration after finishing that proof in automata theory.I think it is time for change.
Unfortunately, when Barack Obama becomes president, not even he will help NCSU students in gaining equitable treatment under the law. He has written about engaging in such activities when he was younger. And then to turn his back on us – what audacity!
By contrast, Hillary might’ve helped. I saw a picture of her taking a shot of whiskey, which I would do too if people despised me that much. The idea of her drunk dialing the red phone at 3 a.m., however, is somewhat disconcerting.
But let’s be honest for a minute. All of us have friends who would drive drunk in a heartbeat. We may have even seen them do so, and we didn’t stop them, maybe because we were drunk too, or maybe we didn’t care enough. And I’ve got to say, if we don’t care enough about each other to stop our irresponsible behavior, why would our legislators stop theirs?
E-mail Jay about the absurdity of the drinking age at [email protected].