The Respect Issue

“Respect commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due” –Eldrige Cleaver

The way I see it, the central tenet of the Missouri 18 to Drink initiative is respect. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Now find out what it means to me.

Love doesn’t make the world go ’round, respect does. Respect keeps us from taking other people out behind the woodshed even when we don’t like them very much. Just look at how many ways we express respect–respect their talents, respect their feelings, respect their space, etc. Society, especially in the PC world that we live in, seems to have great respect for everything.

I wonder if it is because we have all been in a situation where we weren’t respected. Think back to the last time someone disrespected you when it was uncalled for. Think about how it made you feel. It hurt, didn’t it?

This is what we are doing to an 18/19/20 year old every time they want to have a drink. We are saying to them “Sorry, I know you are an adult, but we just don’t respect you.” We knowingly deny them a right to do something that any adult should be able to do without a valid reason for doing so.

Why? Is it for health reasons? Fear of a rash of drunk drivers? Binge drinking? Each of these reasons have a degree of truth to them, but that doesn’t make them useful in this argument.

Yes, 15 year old drinkers are at more risk to become alcoholics–that’s why it is the Missouri 18 to Drink initiative. Drunk driving has decreased in the 16-20 age range. Better education and forethought of a DD has seen to that. Legal drinkers 21 and over don’t handle themselves much better than underage drinkers when it comes to binge drinking.

Maybe you can come up with a reason that I haven’t thought of that would make sense of a 21 drinking age. I am certainly open to suggestions.

While we’re waiting, let’s give respect a chance.

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?

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.