Alcohol abuse is a serious problem in the high schools and colleges of the United States. This crisis exists despite tough laws designed to prohibit drinking by anyone under twenty-one years of age. In the war against drugs and alcohol, the United States has racked up one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, but still the drinking problem persists. The failure of the drinking age legislation is not the matter of lax enforcement, but a failure the law itself.
In recent years, studies have shown that, while alcohol abuse is devastating to an individual, moderate consumption is not. There may even be minor benefits to moderate consumption. As we learn more about the affects of alcohol, it would be prudent to adjust drinking laws to reflect this knowledge. The new mantra is simple: Alcohol abuse is bad, moderation is okay. Rather than seeking a complete and total prohibition of alcohol, we should draft laws that discourage excessive drinking, but leave moderate consumption alone.
The current alcohol laws work something like a circus hoop. The law tries to prevent alcohol consumption by having people jump through a hoop before getting a drink. For example, a minor in the United States will need to get a forged ID, or grow a beard before going into a bar. Having jumped through a hoop, a teenager is more likely to drink heavily. A superior approach would be to set limits. Such as allow restaurants to serve a maximum amount of alcohol with a meal. With imposed limits, the consumer could buy a drink as desired, but would be discouraged from excessive consumption.
Quite often well meaning laws have had the reverse affect of their intention. The current twenty-one-year-old drinking age has contributed to the crisis of teenage alcoholism. The drinking age encourages alcohol abuse in the following ways:
Drinking habits are a learned behavior. Currently, teenagers learn their drinking habits while hiding behind the gym, getting snookered with their drinking buddies. I learned my drinking habits with my high school and college buddies. We taught ourselves to drink until we got sick, and to drive while intoxicated.
The drinking age has eliminated cultural institutions that taught moderate behavior. As a result, teenagers teach themselves excessive and destructive behavior. It is not just coincidence that countries with lax laws regarding teenage drinking have an overall lower incidence of alcohol abuse than those with an enforced drinking age. In these countries there are numerous cultural institutions which teach moderation. For example, the Catholic Church uses wine in various ceremonies. The use of wine in Holy Communion exposes children to alcohol in a positive, non-abusive environment. In France, many restaurants serve wine with lunch, but it is taboo to overindulge.
Declaring that there is an age at which a person can legally drink has the effect of creating a rite of passage. It is standard practice in America for people to get wasted on their twenty-first birthday. They usually do this with friends - some under the drinking age. The drinking age turns alcohol consumption into a big deal. Alcohol is really not much more than a food substance. A substance that makes you get sick if you drink too much.
I have already explained the circus hoop principle. I found, as a teenager, that when we bought liquor we would drink every last drop. Usually we would drink while hiding from our parents, and the law. As a result we would drink more, and drink it faster. Having jumped through a circus hoop to get the alcohol, we landed in the area of excessive consumption.
There has been much debate about the deterioration of the American family. The drinking age has contributed to this problem. Alcohol is often used as part of social gatherings and celebrations. Our attempts to shield children from alcohol has resulted in our excluding our children from these important events. For example, a parent may have just received a promotion at work. To celebrate the parents would go to a restaurant that serves liquor, leaving their children at home. The liquor laws have created an artificial situation where parents celebrate important events without their children.
When children see parents disappear behind a sign that says "No-one under twenty-one allowed," the children feel a threat or a loss. Even worse, if parent forego a party to stay with their children, the children feel themselves a burden.
There is an unfounded fear that if children see their parents drinking, that they will develop bad drinking habits. If anything, the reverse is true. Children learn by imitation. If they see their parents using moderate drinking habits. Then the children are likely to imitate moderation. As for the fear of excessive consumption by parents, Most parents are aware of their children. When their children are around, they moderate their consumption. I know alcoholics who simply do not overindulge when their children are present. When they are not near their children, they lose control.
By creating this false wall between child and parent, the drinking age separates families and removes the cultural institutions that teach moderation. The drinking age splits people into age groups, and divides our society. By dividing teenagers from the rest of society, we encourage their antisocial behavior.
The government enforced drinking age has been a failure. By removing the cultural institutions that teach moderation, the drinking age may actually contribute to alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, since the drinking age has destroyed the cultural institutions that teach moderation, eliminating it could result in a wave of alcohol abuse. The challenge is to remove the failed legislation in such a way that will rebuild the institutions to teach moderation. This process, I call "Drinker's Education."
Now, I do not pretend to know the best formula for raising children. It would be wrong to think that there is a step by step way to introduce children to adult world of alcohol. Even worse would be to believe that there is a perfect law that handles the question perfectly. How teenagers learn about alcohol is up to parents and communities. The law should concentrate on setting limits and providing education opportunities.
There are a few goals to aim for: We should continue to shield children alcohol abuse, but there is no need to shield them moderate use. Children learn by imitation. If they see people with responsible behavior, they will imitate that behavior in later life. While children should be prohibited from the seedier bars where people drink to get drunk, they should not be prohibited from restaurants, where alcohol complements a meal.
In colleges, a lot of problems arise because there is a mix of students who are over twenty-one and can drink, while there are many who are under the drinking age. Those who are under age feel left out. To make matters worse. People who just turned twenty-one, and who sympathize with their under age friends are likely to provide alcohol to their friends. That means that college students have ample access to liquor in an illegal setting. Colleges should be allowed to set a campus wide policy for alcohol use. There could be places where students could go to learn about alcohol in a responsible setting. For example, there could be classes on bar tending and wine tasting. Students could learn how to mix a daiquiri, and taste wines. The classes could have a strict limit on the amount of alcohol served. Another approach might be to allow limited alcohol use in a special common area. This area could have a strict maximum of a single drink per day. Another possibility would be for the dining hall to serve a single glass of wine or beer with dinner every Wednesday. Drinker's education should place a strict prohibition on drinking and driving. For example, a wine tasting class should require the students to report how they will get home without driving. The class should appoint designated drivers, etc..
The final, and most important, ingredient is parental involvement. The state is not wise enough to raise children. A step by step law for drinking education will not work. Even if we had better people in Congress, Congress will not be smart enough to determine the exact age at which people are responsible enough to learn about alcohol. Any change in laws should emphasize parental involvement and parental controls.
Alcohol abuse is a serious problem. Moderate consumption is not. Our laws should be designed to prevent abuse, not moderate consumption. The drinking age is one of the worst approaches to alcohol control. By trying to enforce a prohibition on one segment, and unlimited access to the rest, the drinking age law encourages alcohol abuse.
The goal of protecting children is admirable, but the drinking age law eliminates the cultural institutions that teach control. Our goal as a society should not just be to protect children, but to raise responsible adults. The drinking age should be replaced with laws that allow college students and teenagers limited access to alcohol. This way they can learn about alcohol in a positive, open setting. Furthermore, laws which exclude children from locations where alcohol is consumed responsibly should be stricken from the books. It is up to parents to raise their children, and not the state.
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