So here I am, taking a last parting stab at the age issue, even though it's not pertinent to my focus. But many of the readers seem to be pretty invested in it, so I shall address it for the last time. This is in part sentimental, because the age issue is how the blog began, although the blog didn't quite pan out that way. Yet, there is something poetic in ending the blog the way it begins. So here we go.
This post is meant to raise more questions than it answers, so I'm sorry if anyone reading it is looking for answers. I don't have any, especially with regards to the age. All I can say is that my contention with the age debate is with the way it is framed, and not that either age, 21 or 18 is better/worse. I think if the age is going to be changed, it should be changed for reasons better than the ones currently employed in the ongoing debate. Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that changing the age is going to fundamentally alter college students and change their drinking patterns.
Quite shockingly, the more I think about the age issue in terms of a specific number, the more I wonder why an age is necessary in the first place. If sufficient education measures are in place, both in the home and in public spheres, and laws against irresponsible drinking and its resultant actions are well crafted and implemented, then is a drinking age needed? I don't know. A proper investigation into such a question will require some delving into the purposes of laws and how they are formed, which I have neither time nor resources for.
But let's stop getting distracted and return to the issue of age. Honestly, it's somewhat of a mess, isn't it? Neither side seems willing to relinquish their positions and keep arguing for either 18 or 21. I suggest that a temporary solution should be to opt for the middle: 19 years and 6 months.
Joking aside, in the current legal paradigm, an age is needed. I don't think American society is ready for drinking to be completely legal, especially given its historical baggage with prohibition. But how to get to that, like I said, I have no good answer. My guess is as good as yours. Or maybe... we should just toss a coin.
At this point, it's time for me to blow my trumpet again. I know I said it'd be nice to end with the age. But truly, my solution to the fracas is for the disputing parties to channel their energy elsewhere and craft alcohol education programmes that work better than the current ones. In this respect, I think John McCardell, one of the motivators of the Amethyst Initiative, is headed in the right direction with his proposal for alcohol education. Now if only he could meet his opponents halfway, abandon the quibbling over the number, and focus on getting that plan on the road.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Self Analysis Post
I have to admit that when I first started writing the blog, I was leaning more strongly in favour of maintaining the drinking age, because lowering it in light of uncontrollable, irresponsible, unruly college students, and couching one’s reasons for doing so as in their (the college students) best interests, just reeked of giving in to bratty children. BUT, right from the start, I KNEW perfectly well that that is just my biased opinion, which is why, I initially didn’t commit to any particular stance on the age issue.
After researching the debate and looking over the arguments of the two main camps, as represented by the Amethyst Initiative and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, I was all the more convinced that taking a stance on the issue of age was not the direction to take. As anyone who has read this blog should see, the two opposing sides are arguing over the number of the age in relation to two distinct drinking issues, binge drinking and drunk driving, with each party being concerned with one drinking issue.
Initially, upon reading their arguments, I felt that each side had good reason to argue what they did. It also didn’t help that the CBS video on the recent drinking age debate did a pretty good job at presenting both sides, although admittedly, it did give more time to the Amethyst Initiative as the new kid on the block. The point is, I was fairly confused as to why two completely reasonable arguments could reach diametrically opposed conclusions.
However, even as I was unable to twist my mind round the clash of two seemingly equally valid ideas, it was apparent that there was a problem regarding the issue of drinking. As this article highlights, college binge drinking is on the rise, and more than just newspapers were making the claim, researchers had the same findings as well.
Then the line in Robert Schlesinger’s blog post on the drinking age caught my eye: “There are larger issues we need to address as a society regardless of what happens regarding the drinking age.” That really got me thinking out of the box. What if the crux of the debate lay not in the age, but in the “larger issues” underlying the superficial debate about a number? If society could focus on solving the larger problem of irresponsible alcohol consumption, then the debate surrounding the age, as it is currently framed, would be pretty much moot.
I felt somewhat vindicated when I stumbled across Joshua Sharp’s (a USC student) blog post which holds the same sentiment as I do, that it was the attitudes towards drinking, not the age, that mattered. I view this source as particularly significant as it represents a voice of a student, someone in the midst of college drinking rather than someone standing on the outside and analyzing a detached scenario. Even then, outside researchers reached the same conclusion, as shown by the study on how attractiveness and popularity are associated with binge drinking in young adults.
I trust this sufficiently explains why I am not particularly interested in finding an answer to the current age debate. Instead, I hope that my interrogation of the issue has provided a way through which an answer to the current age debate becomes unnecessary.
In addition, my research into this topic also disabused me of some common misconceptions such as other European countries having less of a youth drinking problem compared to America, which this study debunks. Finding out instances where my preconceived opinions were erroneous is important to my development as a thinker as it helps to ensure that my opinions are grounded in fact rather than rumour.
As for my development as a thinker in terms of making arguments, a productive learning experience from this project would be the exercise in focusing an argument and at the same time demonstrating a consideration for other aspects of the topic. For this reason, I had two posts on adulthood, which many see as pertinent to the age debate, in which I explained why I did not see an argument on adulthood as being all that significant to the alcohol issues at hand as per the way the current age debate is framed. After demonstrating a consideration of that issue, I then began on my overall argument that the problems of binge drinking and drunk driving, as well as the attitudes towards alcohol, were the fundamentals of the current age debate and should be considered in their own right.
Ultimately, with regard to the issue of drinking in America, I learnt that alcohol is one of the big controversies in the US. As this chapter in a book on Controversies introduces the issue of drinking, "Drinking [in America] has been blessed and cursed, has been held the cause of economic catastrophe and the hope for prosperity, the major cause of crime, disease and military defeat, depravity and a sign of high prestige, mature personality, and a refined civilization.” This is new to me as a foreigner because back home, we give way less thought to alcohol on the whole. Consequently, it can be said that in some ways, writing this blog has been a process of discovery of not only an intellectual nature, but also a cultural one.
After researching the debate and looking over the arguments of the two main camps, as represented by the Amethyst Initiative and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, I was all the more convinced that taking a stance on the issue of age was not the direction to take. As anyone who has read this blog should see, the two opposing sides are arguing over the number of the age in relation to two distinct drinking issues, binge drinking and drunk driving, with each party being concerned with one drinking issue.
Initially, upon reading their arguments, I felt that each side had good reason to argue what they did. It also didn’t help that the CBS video on the recent drinking age debate did a pretty good job at presenting both sides, although admittedly, it did give more time to the Amethyst Initiative as the new kid on the block. The point is, I was fairly confused as to why two completely reasonable arguments could reach diametrically opposed conclusions.
However, even as I was unable to twist my mind round the clash of two seemingly equally valid ideas, it was apparent that there was a problem regarding the issue of drinking. As this article highlights, college binge drinking is on the rise, and more than just newspapers were making the claim, researchers had the same findings as well.
Then the line in Robert Schlesinger’s blog post on the drinking age caught my eye: “There are larger issues we need to address as a society regardless of what happens regarding the drinking age.” That really got me thinking out of the box. What if the crux of the debate lay not in the age, but in the “larger issues” underlying the superficial debate about a number? If society could focus on solving the larger problem of irresponsible alcohol consumption, then the debate surrounding the age, as it is currently framed, would be pretty much moot.
I felt somewhat vindicated when I stumbled across Joshua Sharp’s (a USC student) blog post which holds the same sentiment as I do, that it was the attitudes towards drinking, not the age, that mattered. I view this source as particularly significant as it represents a voice of a student, someone in the midst of college drinking rather than someone standing on the outside and analyzing a detached scenario. Even then, outside researchers reached the same conclusion, as shown by the study on how attractiveness and popularity are associated with binge drinking in young adults.
I trust this sufficiently explains why I am not particularly interested in finding an answer to the current age debate. Instead, I hope that my interrogation of the issue has provided a way through which an answer to the current age debate becomes unnecessary.
In addition, my research into this topic also disabused me of some common misconceptions such as other European countries having less of a youth drinking problem compared to America, which this study debunks. Finding out instances where my preconceived opinions were erroneous is important to my development as a thinker as it helps to ensure that my opinions are grounded in fact rather than rumour.
As for my development as a thinker in terms of making arguments, a productive learning experience from this project would be the exercise in focusing an argument and at the same time demonstrating a consideration for other aspects of the topic. For this reason, I had two posts on adulthood, which many see as pertinent to the age debate, in which I explained why I did not see an argument on adulthood as being all that significant to the alcohol issues at hand as per the way the current age debate is framed. After demonstrating a consideration of that issue, I then began on my overall argument that the problems of binge drinking and drunk driving, as well as the attitudes towards alcohol, were the fundamentals of the current age debate and should be considered in their own right.
Ultimately, with regard to the issue of drinking in America, I learnt that alcohol is one of the big controversies in the US. As this chapter in a book on Controversies introduces the issue of drinking, "Drinking [in America] has been blessed and cursed, has been held the cause of economic catastrophe and the hope for prosperity, the major cause of crime, disease and military defeat, depravity and a sign of high prestige, mature personality, and a refined civilization.” This is new to me as a foreigner because back home, we give way less thought to alcohol on the whole. Consequently, it can be said that in some ways, writing this blog has been a process of discovery of not only an intellectual nature, but also a cultural one.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Implications Post
So what are the implications if the issue is never resolved? That really depends on what the issue is.
If the issue is about the age in itself, then my answer is that it is, as a matter of fact, already “resolved” insofar as there IS an existing drinking age. Whether people are happy about it is another matter entirely. And even then, if the age were to be changed, I don’t think one can consider that to be “resolved” as there will be others around who think that the age settled upon is not entirely appropriate. As this article states, the proposed prohibition of alcohol in America has “provoked strong controversy and conflict.”
But the age, as I have repeatedly said, but which tends to be forgotten in a discussion about drinking, is not the issue. The issue which needs to be resolved is the issue of college students’ attitudes toward alcohol. Behavioural studies such as this show that attitude is one main component that influences one’s action.
If unhealthy drinking attitudes are not revised, there is likely to be a continued alcohol problem amongst college students. As it is, we see an increasing trend of college students binge drinking. The effects of such attitudes towards alcohol among college students are potentially horrific because these are the people who will become parents and future leaders. One can only hope that they will eventually learn and “grow up,” and most eventually do, but that just means that they grow up, have their own children, and the cycle repeats itself with more than 1000 alcohol-related college student deaths per year. Admittedly, in a country the size of the US what is 1000 deaths? Just 1000 children belonging to at least 2000 parents.
So the question is, can we change attitudes, and if so, how?
If the issue is about the age in itself, then my answer is that it is, as a matter of fact, already “resolved” insofar as there IS an existing drinking age. Whether people are happy about it is another matter entirely. And even then, if the age were to be changed, I don’t think one can consider that to be “resolved” as there will be others around who think that the age settled upon is not entirely appropriate. As this article states, the proposed prohibition of alcohol in America has “provoked strong controversy and conflict.”
But the age, as I have repeatedly said, but which tends to be forgotten in a discussion about drinking, is not the issue. The issue which needs to be resolved is the issue of college students’ attitudes toward alcohol. Behavioural studies such as this show that attitude is one main component that influences one’s action.
If unhealthy drinking attitudes are not revised, there is likely to be a continued alcohol problem amongst college students. As it is, we see an increasing trend of college students binge drinking. The effects of such attitudes towards alcohol among college students are potentially horrific because these are the people who will become parents and future leaders. One can only hope that they will eventually learn and “grow up,” and most eventually do, but that just means that they grow up, have their own children, and the cycle repeats itself with more than 1000 alcohol-related college student deaths per year. Admittedly, in a country the size of the US what is 1000 deaths? Just 1000 children belonging to at least 2000 parents.
So the question is, can we change attitudes, and if so, how?
Monday, November 2, 2009
Annotated Links Post
Report on the drinking age debate on ABC online:
This article presents a fairly comprehensive overview of the ongoing debate and the different groups involved: the Amethyst Initiative and its opponents in MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and Support 21. However, the focus of the article is clearly more on those who propose lowering the age, since they are, after all, the ones who have breathed new life into the drinking age debate.
Higher Drinking Age Leads To Less Binge Drinking – Except In College Students
This article from Science Daily gives an account of a study which shows a correlation between the raising of the drinking age to 21 in 1984 and the overall decline of binge drinking, even as binge drinking in male college students remained unchanged and increased in female college students. It presents an interesting conclusion that even as “There may be good, philosophical arguments about why the drinking age should be lower than 21, but our study demonstrates the higher minimum drinking age has been good for public health.” While the statistics are interesting, my contention with the article is that a correlation does not necessarily mean a casual correlation. In that respect, I think the article makes a logical leap which may not be wholly justified.
Alcohol Advertising and Youth: A Measured Approach
This study recognizes the influence the media has, in the form of advertising, on youth attitudes towards alcohol. It points out that there is an excess of youth exposure to alcohol advertising and suggests a 15% cap on youth audience composition for alcohol advertising. This study presents a practical way to address the alcohol issue without running into the age issue, thus showing that we need not quibble about age in order to do something about alcohol.
Theory of Planned Behavior/ Reasoned Action:
A summary of a theory in behavioral psychology that could be potentially useful in alcohol education.
It may seem de-humanizing to suggest that behavior can be planned, as though human agency and control is wrest from the individual. However, that is exactly what the theory seems to suggest, that behavior can be planned and conditioned. What is interesting is that it expands the model beyond one’s attitudes (which is what I’ve proposed throughout the blog, that behavior is influenced by attitude) to include one’s beliefs regarding others’ response to a particular behavior and their “perceptions of their ability to perform a given behavior.”
Understanding binge drinking among young people: an application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour:
A study that relates behavioral psychology specifically to the problem of binge drinking.
This follows from the earlier link explaining the theory. The study stresses the need to alter the current social environment of young people in “full-time education” to one that downplays alcohol in order to curb the incidence of binge drinking among young people. Some suggestions include both formal alcohol education and using the media to reshape social attitudes towards alcohol consumption.
This article presents a fairly comprehensive overview of the ongoing debate and the different groups involved: the Amethyst Initiative and its opponents in MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and Support 21. However, the focus of the article is clearly more on those who propose lowering the age, since they are, after all, the ones who have breathed new life into the drinking age debate.
Higher Drinking Age Leads To Less Binge Drinking – Except In College Students
This article from Science Daily gives an account of a study which shows a correlation between the raising of the drinking age to 21 in 1984 and the overall decline of binge drinking, even as binge drinking in male college students remained unchanged and increased in female college students. It presents an interesting conclusion that even as “There may be good, philosophical arguments about why the drinking age should be lower than 21, but our study demonstrates the higher minimum drinking age has been good for public health.” While the statistics are interesting, my contention with the article is that a correlation does not necessarily mean a casual correlation. In that respect, I think the article makes a logical leap which may not be wholly justified.
Alcohol Advertising and Youth: A Measured Approach
This study recognizes the influence the media has, in the form of advertising, on youth attitudes towards alcohol. It points out that there is an excess of youth exposure to alcohol advertising and suggests a 15% cap on youth audience composition for alcohol advertising. This study presents a practical way to address the alcohol issue without running into the age issue, thus showing that we need not quibble about age in order to do something about alcohol.
Theory of Planned Behavior/ Reasoned Action:
A summary of a theory in behavioral psychology that could be potentially useful in alcohol education.
It may seem de-humanizing to suggest that behavior can be planned, as though human agency and control is wrest from the individual. However, that is exactly what the theory seems to suggest, that behavior can be planned and conditioned. What is interesting is that it expands the model beyond one’s attitudes (which is what I’ve proposed throughout the blog, that behavior is influenced by attitude) to include one’s beliefs regarding others’ response to a particular behavior and their “perceptions of their ability to perform a given behavior.”
Understanding binge drinking among young people: an application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour:
A study that relates behavioral psychology specifically to the problem of binge drinking.
This follows from the earlier link explaining the theory. The study stresses the need to alter the current social environment of young people in “full-time education” to one that downplays alcohol in order to curb the incidence of binge drinking among young people. Some suggestions include both formal alcohol education and using the media to reshape social attitudes towards alcohol consumption.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Effects of Attitudes towards Drinking
In the previous post on attitudes, it was established that attitudes towards alcohol amongst college students are shaped by more than just the fact that the legal drinking age is 21. More importantly, it is evident that there is a glorification of drinking and losing control in the media that is targeted at college students. Apart from that, it would not be too far of a stretch to say that the notion that drinking is cool is perpetuated by college students among college students. As a matter of fact, this article suggests that contrary to national trends, the number of college binge drinkers is rising.
The point of this post is to point out that such an attitude towards drinking directly affects both the incidence of binge drinking and drunk driving. If college students do not treat drinking with proper respect and caution, but instead view “getting wasted” as being the “norm” and being part of the “college experience,” they are more likely to make the wrong decisions that result in drunk driving and binge drinking. However, if they are aware of the dangers of drinking and have a healthy attitude towards alcohol, they are less likely to make the wrong decisions that result in the tragedies of drunk driving and binge drinking.
Thus, we see that the underlying concerns of both those for the 21 age and those for the 18 age can be addressed if we focus on alcohol education rather than quibbling about an arbitrary number.
The point of this post is to point out that such an attitude towards drinking directly affects both the incidence of binge drinking and drunk driving. If college students do not treat drinking with proper respect and caution, but instead view “getting wasted” as being the “norm” and being part of the “college experience,” they are more likely to make the wrong decisions that result in drunk driving and binge drinking. However, if they are aware of the dangers of drinking and have a healthy attitude towards alcohol, they are less likely to make the wrong decisions that result in the tragedies of drunk driving and binge drinking.
Thus, we see that the underlying concerns of both those for the 21 age and those for the 18 age can be addressed if we focus on alcohol education rather than quibbling about an arbitrary number.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Theory Post
As with most polarized debates, part of the reason why the issue becomes so starkly bifurcated is because people take sides to which they are personally attached. This is equivalent to the formation of “pet hypotheses” in scientific discourse. Consequently, both sides are deeply convicted of the validity of their stance, and are blindsided to other possible solutions to the issue.
Bringing the idea of the pet hypothesis – a position to which one is personally attached – to the drinking age debate, we can easily see that such is the case within the debate. Amongst those who argue fervently for the age to be maintained, is the organization MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). With such a name, the appeal to pathos is hard to miss. Even more, when one is aware of the history of the organization, it is easy to understand why the founders and the current members are passionately attached to their cause (many of them have lost a child to drunk driving). This emotional attachment, put alongside the statistical success of the 21 drinking age in reducing drunk driving incidents since its inception, further cements proponents’ belief in the legitimacy of their solution.
On the other side, supporters of lowering the drinking age include parents such as Leslie and Michael Lanahan, parents of Lynn Gordon Bailey, who died from alcohol poisoning after binge drinking at a fraternity gathering. They are recorded on the CBS 60 Minutes program on the drinking age debate as supporting the lowering of the drinking to 18, because it might have made a difference in their son’s case – the difference being that the underage fraternity “kids” would have called for help if what they had been doing had not been illegal. Other supporters such as the college presidents heading the Amethyst Initiative find their personal attachment to the 18 age in that a lower drinking age will have significant implications on the way colleges are run. As it is, with the age of 21 and so much illegal drinking going on at college, presidents and college administrators are at a loss as to how to handle the situation. While many claim to have the interests of the students at heart, which is not untrue, there is no denying that with the legalization of alcohol for 18 year olds, that is one less headache for college administrators.
Both sides view their drinking ages as instrumental to solving their pet problems of drunk driving and college binge drinking. However, the two ages are mutually exclusive, thus they cannot agree on the age issue. Yet, it can be said that neither side wishes to see more teenagers/college students making irresponsible drinking choices. Hence, I propose that both sides step away from the issue about age and focus instead on the problems of drunk driving and college binge drinking as problems in their own right. As for the age, it should not be conflated with other drinking problems, but decided upon separately (how this should be done is another matter for another blog).
At the heart of both problems of drunk driving and binge drinking are the attitudes towards drinking and one’s ability to make good, responsible decisions. If both sides in the drinking age debate can come together to devise a system apart from the restrictive method of the law that encourages a healthy attitude towards drinking and good decision making among teenagers and college students, that will go further in addressing both problems. In other words, what is more important is a fundamental revision of attitudes, as opposed to simply slapping on a law, which may restrict, if effectively enforced, but fails to revise underlying attitudes towards drinking. It is also of little use if the age is lowered in a vague hope that doing so will address the problem of binge drinking.
Bringing the idea of the pet hypothesis – a position to which one is personally attached – to the drinking age debate, we can easily see that such is the case within the debate. Amongst those who argue fervently for the age to be maintained, is the organization MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). With such a name, the appeal to pathos is hard to miss. Even more, when one is aware of the history of the organization, it is easy to understand why the founders and the current members are passionately attached to their cause (many of them have lost a child to drunk driving). This emotional attachment, put alongside the statistical success of the 21 drinking age in reducing drunk driving incidents since its inception, further cements proponents’ belief in the legitimacy of their solution.
On the other side, supporters of lowering the drinking age include parents such as Leslie and Michael Lanahan, parents of Lynn Gordon Bailey, who died from alcohol poisoning after binge drinking at a fraternity gathering. They are recorded on the CBS 60 Minutes program on the drinking age debate as supporting the lowering of the drinking to 18, because it might have made a difference in their son’s case – the difference being that the underage fraternity “kids” would have called for help if what they had been doing had not been illegal. Other supporters such as the college presidents heading the Amethyst Initiative find their personal attachment to the 18 age in that a lower drinking age will have significant implications on the way colleges are run. As it is, with the age of 21 and so much illegal drinking going on at college, presidents and college administrators are at a loss as to how to handle the situation. While many claim to have the interests of the students at heart, which is not untrue, there is no denying that with the legalization of alcohol for 18 year olds, that is one less headache for college administrators.
Both sides view their drinking ages as instrumental to solving their pet problems of drunk driving and college binge drinking. However, the two ages are mutually exclusive, thus they cannot agree on the age issue. Yet, it can be said that neither side wishes to see more teenagers/college students making irresponsible drinking choices. Hence, I propose that both sides step away from the issue about age and focus instead on the problems of drunk driving and college binge drinking as problems in their own right. As for the age, it should not be conflated with other drinking problems, but decided upon separately (how this should be done is another matter for another blog).
At the heart of both problems of drunk driving and binge drinking are the attitudes towards drinking and one’s ability to make good, responsible decisions. If both sides in the drinking age debate can come together to devise a system apart from the restrictive method of the law that encourages a healthy attitude towards drinking and good decision making among teenagers and college students, that will go further in addressing both problems. In other words, what is more important is a fundamental revision of attitudes, as opposed to simply slapping on a law, which may restrict, if effectively enforced, but fails to revise underlying attitudes towards drinking. It is also of little use if the age is lowered in a vague hope that doing so will address the problem of binge drinking.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I gotta feeling... that drinking and binge drinking is cool because of way more than just the age limit
Alright, I can't embed the video for your convenience, so please click on the link to watch it. Thanks!
Black Eyed Peas - I Got A Feeling
I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night (x4)
Tonight’s the night night
Let’s live it up
I got my money
Let’s spend it up
Go out and smash it
like Oh My God
Jump off that sofa
Let’s get get OFF
I know that we’ll have a ball
if we get down
and go out
and just loose it all
I feel stressed out
I wanna let it go
Lets go way out spaced out
and losing all control
Fill up my cup
Mazal tov
Look at her dancing
just take it off
Lets paint the town
We’ll shut it down
Let’s burn the roof
and then we’ll do it again
Lets Do it (x3)
and live it up
i gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night (x2)
Tonight’s the night
let’s live it up
I got my money
Lets spend it up
Go out and smash it
Like Oh My God
Jump off that sofa
Lets get get OFF
Fill up my cup (Drink)
Mazal Tov (L’chaim)
Look at her dancing (Move it Move it)
Just take it off
Lets paint the town
We’ll shut it down
Lets burn the roof
and then we’ll do it again
lets do it (x3)
let’s live it up
Here we come
here we go
we gotta rock
Easy come
easy go
now we on top
Feel the shot
body rock
Rock it don’t stop
Round and round
up and down
around the clock
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Friday, Saturday, Saturday and Sunday
we keep keep keep keep on going
we know what we say
party everyday
party everyday
got a feeling
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night
Notice anything interesting about this song? If you like it, you’re not alone. In fact, I concede that it’s got a highly addictive tune. But what does it say? And for those who don’t quite listen/pay attention to lyrics, what does the music video convey? I’m willing to go out on a limb here and say that anyone listening to the song and watching the music video will associate the idea of “good night” with whatever is being portrayed in the song/video.
It is for this reason, that I argue that the cool factor regarding drinking and binge drinking has to do with way more than the illegality of the activity. Consequently, it is questionable whether lowering the drinking age will have the desired effect of curbing binge drinking, as proponents of the lower age argue.
Even then, some may argue that one’s actions are not dictated by the pop culture one consumes. One would hope that such is the case. However, studies suggest otherwise. For instance, this study on the “Association of Attractiveness and Popularity with Binge Drinking in Young Adults” suggests that “binge drinking can be used as a means to attain social acceptance. High social status is usually accompanied by socially conventional behavior, and much of the young adult culture in the US sees binge drinking as an activity partaken by attractive and popular individuals.”
I have to say that Joshua Sharp’s observation that “there remains a powerful subculture at college in which binge drinking is socially acceptable.” You don’t have to look very far. Just count the number of unauthorized liquor bottles smuggled in, consumed, and disposed of indiscriminately in the student seating section of a college football game.
Black Eyed Peas - I Got A Feeling
I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night (x4)
Tonight’s the night night
Let’s live it up
I got my money
Let’s spend it up
Go out and smash it
like Oh My God
Jump off that sofa
Let’s get get OFF
I know that we’ll have a ball
if we get down
and go out
and just loose it all
I feel stressed out
I wanna let it go
Lets go way out spaced out
and losing all control
Fill up my cup
Mazal tov
Look at her dancing
just take it off
Lets paint the town
We’ll shut it down
Let’s burn the roof
and then we’ll do it again
Lets Do it (x3)
and live it up
i gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night (x2)
Tonight’s the night
let’s live it up
I got my money
Lets spend it up
Go out and smash it
Like Oh My God
Jump off that sofa
Lets get get OFF
Fill up my cup (Drink)
Mazal Tov (L’chaim)
Look at her dancing (Move it Move it)
Just take it off
Lets paint the town
We’ll shut it down
Lets burn the roof
and then we’ll do it again
lets do it (x3)
let’s live it up
Here we come
here we go
we gotta rock
Easy come
easy go
now we on top
Feel the shot
body rock
Rock it don’t stop
Round and round
up and down
around the clock
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Friday, Saturday, Saturday and Sunday
we keep keep keep keep on going
we know what we say
party everyday
party everyday
got a feeling
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night
Notice anything interesting about this song? If you like it, you’re not alone. In fact, I concede that it’s got a highly addictive tune. But what does it say? And for those who don’t quite listen/pay attention to lyrics, what does the music video convey? I’m willing to go out on a limb here and say that anyone listening to the song and watching the music video will associate the idea of “good night” with whatever is being portrayed in the song/video.
It is for this reason, that I argue that the cool factor regarding drinking and binge drinking has to do with way more than the illegality of the activity. Consequently, it is questionable whether lowering the drinking age will have the desired effect of curbing binge drinking, as proponents of the lower age argue.
Even then, some may argue that one’s actions are not dictated by the pop culture one consumes. One would hope that such is the case. However, studies suggest otherwise. For instance, this study on the “Association of Attractiveness and Popularity with Binge Drinking in Young Adults” suggests that “binge drinking can be used as a means to attain social acceptance. High social status is usually accompanied by socially conventional behavior, and much of the young adult culture in the US sees binge drinking as an activity partaken by attractive and popular individuals.”
I have to say that Joshua Sharp’s observation that “there remains a powerful subculture at college in which binge drinking is socially acceptable.” You don’t have to look very far. Just count the number of unauthorized liquor bottles smuggled in, consumed, and disposed of indiscriminately in the student seating section of a college football game.
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