Traverse City Record-Eagle

Other Views

December 24, 2011

Another view: Keep drinking age at 21

The Saginaw News ----

If respondents to

a recent poll had

their way, Michigan’s

drinking age would no

longer be 21.

When asked, “What is the

best way to curb underage

drinking?” in an online

survey, the option respondents

overwhelmingly

chose was to lower it.

Fifty-five percent picked

that as the solution. Other

options included raising

the drinking age, better

alcohol education, tagging

kegs such as what the new

Michigan law requires,

and even “Who cares?

Underage drinking isn’t a

problem.” Nine percent

selected that last option,

by the way. We hope they

were kidding. Underage

drinking not a problem? It

is a serious one with serious

consequences.

Ask the families that

have been destroyed.

Kids have literally drank

themselves to death, dying

from alcohol poisoning

because they didn’t

realize their bodies could

only metabolize so much

alcohol an hour.

And then there are the

drunken driving deaths,

young lives lost and

families torn apart forever

because young people got

behind the wheel of a car

after somehow getting

their hands on alcohol.

Consuming too much

alcohol makes adults do

stupid things. Why should

we expect teenagers to be

any different?

Yet a lot of adults, as the

poll results show, think

that Michigan’s efforts to

stop underage drinking

are wrong-headed.

The theory goes: Let

them drink legally and

openly, and it won’t be a

big deal. They’ll be more

responsible. Forbidden

fruit and all that. Hey,

teens younger than 18 can

drink in Europe. ...

Wrong.

First of all, homeowners

or others who wink and

look the other way as teens

drink on their property

are helping them break

the law and instilling

habits that could end up

wrecking those kids’ lives

down the line.

It’s not OK for kids to

drink alcohol, much less

to get drunk. Experts on

alcoholism say the earlier

kids start getting drunk,

the more likely they are to

abuse alcohol or become

alcoholics as adults.

Be their parents and

mentors, not their drinking

buddies or the cool

adult who buys their beverages.

Educate them about

the very real dangers associated

with drinking.

Give them the best possible

base of knowledge

from which to draw when

confronted with decisions

regarding alcohol both

before and after they are

of legal age.

And keep that age 21.

Michigan has made a lot

of strides forward combating

teen alcohol use, abuse

and the related tragedies.

Reversing course, as the

majority of online respondents

support, would be

foolish in the extreme.

Thankfully, the Legislature

doesn’t appear interested

in doing anything of

the sort. We raise a glass of

unspiked eggnog to that.

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