[HPFGU-OTChatter] When does a kid become a grownup?

[No Limberger]

>Carol wrote:

>Since we don't have a conversation going on, I've decided to post a new
topic. Does anyone have an
>opinion on when a kid should officially become a grown-up? The age of
majority used to be 21
>(when I was a kid, you couldn't even vote till you were 21; I think it was
the Vietnam War that changed
>that law.) Now it's 18 for most privileges (except alcohol and tobacco). In
the WW, it's 17 (which, to me,
>seems too young given the prolonged adolescence in most modern societies).
Anyone want to chime in
>on this topic? (Of course, kids mature at different rates, but I'm talking
about kids in general.)

No.Limberger responds:

If someone can enter or be drafted into the military when they turn 18 years
of age (meaning that they
can be regarded as being allowed to die for their country, which is the
ultimate sacrifice), then the
age of 18 is definitely when that person should be considered an adult. The
26th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1971, ensured that anyone at or
over the age of 18 would be
eligible to vote, which only makes sense given that an 18 year old may be
drafted into the U.S. military
where he/she may be killed in battle.

As to the minimum drinking age, prior to the ratification of the 26th
Amendment, the minimum drinking
age in the U.S. was typically 21; but states then lowered the drinking age
to 18 or 19 following the
ratification using the same logic regarding an 18 year old's ability to die
for his/her country. The drinking
age was raised again to 21 when the federal government adopted the Federal
Underage Drinking Act
(FUDAA), which was signed into law by Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1984. It
essentially forced states to adopt a
minimum drinking age of 21 or lose federal funding for transportation
projects. All states complied by
1988. (More information & commentary here:
http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/15/lowering-legal-drinking-age-opinions-contributors-regulation.html
.)

If an 18 year old wants to drink, no minimum drinking age law set at 21 is
going to completely prevent
the person (who is otherwise a legal adult) from obtaining alcohol.

-- 
"Why don't you dance with me, I'm not no limberger!"


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