cardtrader,
Did you know that in Japan Marines who are 20 years old can legally drink? The local law in Japan is that anyone 20 years old or older can drink. Within the past four years or so, the general in charge of all Marine Forces Japan said that the Marine Corps will allow the Marines to drink at 20. Furthermore, the Marine corps also very recently changed their regulations so that any Marine attending a Marine Corps event on a military base MAY drink alcohol if it is deemed so by the base commander. That means that yes, if you are 18 and your unit has a function on base, and the CO signs off on it, you can drink. Why do you think these changes have been implemented? It's because it's true, and it's frustrating for military service members. If we can die for our country, we should also be able to drink. The drinking age in our country is simply too high.

I would teach my kids to drink. And why not? That's the responsible thing to do. Think of is this way: As a parent you might at some time take your kids camping. Going camping is an excellent opportunity to teach your kids how to handle fire responsibly. You can teach them all about fire safety and what to do in all sorts of situations. It also provides a good, controlled environment where you can allow your kids to experiment with fire safely. When your kids gain a better understanding of fire, the chances of an accidental fire occurring and then going out of control are greatly reduced. Drinking alcohol is very similar. Teach your kids to drink responsibly, under your supervision. This will better allow them to develop into responsible adults.

No one is suggesting you teach your kids to be professionals at beer pong. Certainly no one is suggesting you teach your kids to binge drink. We're talking about good, responsible drinking.

Just say NO to underage drinking, Life is hard enough why as a parent would any of you rather teach your children to be drinkers as to teach them not to be? The only reason I find is that people dont like to be told what they can or cannot do, especially when it is coming from Uncle Sam. As long as there is a fence there is going to be two sides I choose to be on the side of common sense and that tells me not to give alcohol to minors. As far as if my kid is old enough to go to war he is old enough to drink that is total CRAP! Not everyone that goes to war can handle alcohol nor can everyone that goes to war handle WAR. Somewhere you have to draw a line and not cross it. Just my opinion

The drinking age makes no real difference here. Kids will get booze if they want it bad enough. Social drinking is acceptable in this country. Binge drinking is something kids do when they have just a few opportunities to drink. I don't support underage drinking, but I know things will happen someday where my kids will want to try more than just a sip. I just hope I taught them the dangers of what drinking can do. I guess time will tell. It does all start in the home.

"But on the other hand, there will be alot more drunk drivers (who can barely drive to begin with) on the road, just waiting to be picked off by the cops, if they don't kill someone first, that is."

Talking Monkey-How much worse can it get?

Unfortunatly in this two faced country you are only an adult at 18 when it suits the government's interest. War and criminal liability fall nicely into that catagory. Oh well my best drinking years were before I was 21! Making it illegal to drink at 18 made it that much more fun!

The drinking age should be 18 AND high school diploma, or 21.

And yes teh survey is VERY SLANTED! They try to catagorize "youth" as 12 - 20. WOW there is a HUGE difference between a 20 y/o having a couple of beers and a 12 y/o. Group school ages to make it fair. There is even a huge difference between giving a 12 a drink and a 17 y/o. 18-20 are adults in everything else in life. Very slanted.

I will go with thekia on that. The time I spent in Germany where there is no real "drinking age" just anyone under 16 had to leave the clubs and bars by 10pm, there was no real issues. Because it wasnt "against the law" less kids even had an interest in it. Tell them they can not do something and they flock to it.

The drinking age needs to be lowered. I would take it a step further and say lower it to 16, but I already know how unrealistic that is. The least they can do is lower it to 18 though. The United States has the highest legal drinking age in the world, yet far more problems with drinking than any other country in the world. It doesn't make any sense at all. Obviously increasing the age limit had either little or negative effect on our drinking habits.

I don't trust this survey at all. I'm sure it will be full of leading questions, with the results spun to favor what Partners in Prevention Rock County want us to think.
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Why am I so sure? Because I got a card in the mail today from PinP, with little snippets on it like "Never provide alcohol to your child" and "Don't let your teen attend parties where alcohol is served", both of which are total baloney.
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Should I let my child grow up never having tasted alcohol? Well, there goes Catholic mass and Luthern communion! And by college, she will suddenly be a kid in a candy shop, ready to party down until she flunks out. Better to have tasted beer and wine responsibly before she gets there.
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And the ban on parties with alcohol? Should I send her away just because my friends and I are drinking a beer on the back porch? Ridiculous! Better to model for her responsible alcohol consumption. Otherwise, she will get the impression that alcohol is only for getting drunk. (An opinion held by far to many people.)
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So, while I feel that alcohol is a dangerous drug (worse than pot, by far), I will not be a party to an overly simplistic rejection. Nor will I take Partners in Prevention seriously.

Just because you don't like a law, doesn't mean you should break it and set a HORRIBLE example to a young adult.

I don't like certain speed limits, but that doesn't mean i can drive the speed i feel like it should be.

i agree camper , maybe to make this fair they shouldnt let people under 21 join the service. if their not adult enough for the federal govt to manage their alcohol intake , they shouldnt be adult enough to make a decision that can be life altering

Yep, the drinking age is BS. If they lower it back to 18 again, the state will make more money on taxes from liquor sales. But on the other hand, there will be alot more drunk drivers (who can barely drive to begin with) on the road, just waiting to be picked off by the cops, if they don't kill someone first, that is. But I guess that would be more money for the state in fines, as well. Hmmm.... Lower the drinking age and the state would reap the benefits on BOTH sides of the deal.

At 18 you can join the military, pay taxes, get married and buy tobacco legally but you are not allowed to drink? That has not make sense to me since the federal government forced the states to raise their drinking ages or lose highway funds. It has always been about the almighty dollar and lobbyists getting their way and nothing more!