By Camille Paglia
The age 21
rule sets the United States apart from all advanced Western nations, and
it has pushed kids toward pills and other anti-social behavior.
(Time) The
National Minimum Drinking Age Act, passed by Congress 30 years ago this
July, is a gross violation of civil liberties and must be repealed. It
is absurd and unjust that young Americans can vote, marry, enter
contracts, and serve in the military at 18 but cannot buy an alcoholic
drink in a bar or restaurant. The age 21 rule sets the United States
apart from all advanced Western nations and lumps it with small or
repressive countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Qatar, Oman,
and the United Arab Emirates.
Congress was stampeded into this puritanical law by Mothers Against
Drunk Driving (MADD), who with all good intentions were wrongly
intruding into an area of personal choice exactly as did the
hymn-singing 19th-century Temperance crusaders, typified by Carrie
Nation smashing beer barrels with her hatchet. Temperance fanaticism
eventually triumphed and gave us 14 years of Prohibition. That in turn
spawned the crime syndicates for booze smuggling, laying the groundwork
for today’s global drug trade. Thanks a lot, Carrie!... (continued)
Link:
No comments:
Post a Comment