But if that kid wants to have a goodbye beer with his dad before he goes to war, he'll be thrown in jail (and maybe his dad, too?). WTF!? That's just bullshit. Killing people = okay at 18, drinking a beer = okay at 21. Crazy.
In Scotland (possibly the rest of the UK) it's only illegal for under 18s to purchase alcohol - and even then you can have wine/beer in a restaurant from 16.
Also, technically, it's a state-by-state thing but 21 is pretty popular.
In the case of minimum drinking ages, it's a need for federal highway money that's alive and well in the United States - in 1984, Ronald Reagan tied receiving the full portion of federal funds for infrastructure to having a minimum drinking age of 21. Prior to that, minimum drinking ages varied from 18 to 21 depending on the state - each state set its own social policy, which in my opinion is how it should be.
Digging deeper into the issue, you can see how certain states resisted raising their drinking age, despite funding implications - Wyoming took several years to raise their drinking age, and Louisiana had a loophole that made it illegal buy alcohol but not illegal to sell it until the mid-1990s.
On the PATH, a commuter train from New Jersey to New York, there are public service ads from Mothers Against Drunk Driving against lowering the drinking age, since deaths from drunk driving have dropped dramatically since 1984. Whenever I see one, I get the urge to scribble 'correlation is not causation' on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age#Americas
http://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/Underage_Possession_Consu...
And then she got livid when I... purchased some alcohol and left it around my house, and it got lost. Very very strange.
It isn't illegal for your dad to buy you beer if you are under 21.
It is illegal for him to buy your friends beer.
It isn't illegal to buy beer if you are under 21.
It is illegal to sell beer to someone under 21.
It is illegal to use a fake id.
It is illegal to buy beer for anyone under 21, even if you are under 21.
Public intoxication is also illegal in various states.
I agree with your outrage over the 'drinking age,' but you won't get thrown in jail for having a beer if you aren't 21.
As of January 1, 2007, 14 states and the District of Columbia ban underage consumption outright, 19 states do not specifically ban underage consumption, and an additional 17 states have family member and/or location exceptions to their underage consumption laws.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Minimum_Drinking_Age_A...
No he won't. Most states have maximum penalties set to fines in the magnitude of $500, some form of community service and/or driving licence suspension.
I know this is popular rhetoric for anti-war or anti-US people, but come on, either make a good argument or don't bother at all.
Ouch, sorry. When I lived in the USA, that's what my school told me: drinking alcohol (as an adult, 18+) under the age of 21 will get land you in jail. I moved to Canada when I was 13, so I never encountered this personally. But do note that what I said, I was told by the USA Government education system, Georgia specifically. shrug Sorry if they lied to me.
What makes you think that public school teachers anywhere know the law?
Did you believe everything that they told you?