Let's look at the age again before we say bye

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.

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.

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.