Isn't it wrong that an 18 year old can fight in a war, but c

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Private Idaho
Toucan
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01 Feb 2017, 11:08 am

It was legal in my state to drink beer and wine when I turned 18. The Vietnam war and the draft had a lot to do with states lowering the age to 18 in the 60s and early 70s. In 1984 Congress passed a law which required the states to raise the drinking age to 21 or lose a potion of their highway funds. Indeed it was a form of blackmail because nothing in the US Constitution empowers Congress to micromanage the states in this fashion. Rising awareness of drunk driving deaths had a lot of influence.

Personally I agree that if you are required to register for the draft and die for your country, pay taxes and be considered an adult for all other purposes under law, you should be granted the discretion to drink alcohol. Hard to argue with that, though drunk driving is certainly a problem.

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Dear_one
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01 Feb 2017, 6:45 pm

nick007 wrote:
I don't get it either. It doesn't make sense why 18 year olds can go to bars but cant drink until they're 21. Another thing I don't understand is why 18 year olds can join the military or become cops & get handguns but they're not allowed to buy em until they're 21.


That one does make sense to me. There's more instruction and supervision in a gun-equipped force than in the field. What I can't understand is that people can be drafted to serve in the military, but the arms companies don't even have to go non-profit when their host country has its back to the wall. Some even work for both sides.