Social Brainwashing?

From the first time I heard about this initiative, I’ve often wondered what would happen if someone proposed an amendment to raise the drinking age.

It’s a ridiculous idea, but it’s a fun way to put things into perspective. Most of the people I have talked to about doing this say something like “That would never work. I’m an adult, I can drink whenever I want.” Well, that’s kind of the point that I am trying to make.

Adults who are 18 should have the same opinion. “I’m an adult, I can drink whenever I want.” Why don’t they? Because for as long as they can remember, the drinking age has been 21. That’s just the way it is, and, in their eyes, the way it always will be.

As with most movements–abolitionism, women’s right to vote, etc.–it takes a few people to wake the rest of us up and convince us that we don’t have to continue living as we have been. That we can change things and make them better.

I know that when I was 18, I thought it was unfair that I couldn’t drink until I was 21. But I was only 18. What kind of power did I have? I couldn’t change anything. And I probably would have gone on thinking at 26 if this initiative hadn’t come along.

So, think about this: what would you think if someone told you that you the new drinking age would be 30?

The Amendment

Just a copy of the proposed amendment, for those of you who are interested:

Read it here.

European vs. American

Here’s an article from addiction guru Stanford Peele’s website. The article itself is neat–especially Peele’s response to the letter–but I thought the discussion of the drinking age of the UK is more interesting.

When I turned 21 and started going to the bars, I didn’t have enough experience to understand the relationship between food and alcohol. As almost any college student can tell you, that relationship is one that is quickly learned. Unfortunately, it can only be learned the hard way.

If the US had the alcohol education that the UK has, we would have learned much quicker–and easier–that while Domino’s tastes better after the bar, eating before a night out is a far better way to go.

I’ve Got Numbers

I love facts and statistics. It’s a good thing too because after doing research for this initiative, I have pages and pages of them. I have information on everything from what age drinks the most to where the most alcohol is bought/consumed to accidents involving alcohol.

The thing I love most about these statistics is how easily they are manipulated. We throw statistics around like they mean something. I can give you a study showing that tap water is harmful because of the chemicals and minerals in it. Then, I can give you a study showing that tap water is not harmful and maybe even be beneficial because of the minerals in it. Both reports are valid scientific studies, but they have such different results.

Facts are just as easily manipulated. “The sky is blue” is something we all know. No one will contest that. A statement like “the majority of tasters preferred Pepsi over Coke” is a statement that most would likely accept and cite, misleading though it may be. Remember that a majority is simply more than 50 percent. If 7 people said they liked Pepsi, while only 6 people said they liked Coke, Pepsi has a majority, though it only has one more person that likes it. It may be a true statement, but it’s a little misleading.

Let’s say that 8 people said they prefer Mountain Dew. Now, not only do more people prefer Mountain Dew, Pepsi doesn’t have a true majority anymore. With 21 participants (7+6+8), a soda would need 11 votes for the majority. Pepsi only has 7. But if someone wanted to make Pepsi look better, all they have to do is leave out those numbers for Mountain Dew. They wouldn’t be lying to say that the majority of tasters prefer Pepsi to Coke, but it wouldn’t be the whole truth either.

Anyway, the point is to not take numbers and statements at face value. When faced with an onslaught of numbers, put them into a context. Look under the hood and kick the tires.

Statistics are great to support an argument, but too easily manipulated to be the argument. Statistics should be the corn, not the steak. Make sure the meat of the argument isn’t really just a side dish of statistics.

What About the Drinking Age?

Jeff Krantz has an article here. It shows what some European students studying in the US think about the drinking age at 21.

The Initiative

It’s a little superfluous to start this blog now. Either we will get the 100,000 signatures we need to get the initiative on the ballot by May 5th or we won’t. Right now, it’s looking like it’s on the ‘won’t’ side of things. But that doesn’t mean the initiative is dead. Not even close. We’ll be back at it for our chance at 2010.

In case you’re stumbling on this and don’t know what I’m talking about here, I’ll break the movement down into it’s basics.

What it is:

• An initiative to lower the drinking age in Missouri to 18.
• An initiative to give all adults the respect they deserve instead of holding some in reserve until they turn 21.
• An initiative for equality.

What it is not:

• An initiative promoting binge drinking.
• An initiative seeking anarchy.
• An initiative looking to lower the drinking age just because 18 year olds want to drink.

The Journal speaks

Read it here.

It’s a nice little article. Pretty good coverage of both sides of the debate.

It’s from The Journal.