Lowering The Drinking Age

I was just reading the Newark Star-Ledger this morning, and there is a bunch of blogs discussing the issue of lowering the drinking age. Of course there are a bunch of 18-year olds saying that if they can vote and be "sent off to be killed in Iraq" then they should be allowed to booze up without reprimand. I say this in response...when you join the armed forces and "sent off" you are trained thoroughly, and taught how to handle many situations. A soldier, no matter how old he is, handles basic responsibilities by trained instinct.  When underage kids decide to drink, all semblance of intelligence vanishes and they become drunk and cannot handle basic responsibilities, like driving safely, or having rational thought. That is the difference between serving our country and kicking back with a few beers. You cannot train someone how to handle their liquor, you can only wait until they turn 21 and hope that those few extra added years will help them behave in a mature responsible way after the liquor kicks in. And in case anyone is wondering, I had to wait until I was 21 to drink.