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Dear A.G.,
For those who have
missed the reason for the "hoopla"...
At a restaurant in Austin, Texas, Barbara Bush
was found in possession of an alcoholic drink,
while her sister, Jenna, who was cited previously
for drinking at a popular downtown bar, tried
to buy a drink with a fake ID.
I have tried to be apolitical
in this column, but when it comes to addressing
the severe societal problems resulting from misuse
of alcohol or so-called "recreational"
use of other addictive substances, particularly
by kids, I feel obliged to speak out.
I know where you're coming from
regarding the legal drinking age. I was only 17
when I joined up in WWII...old enough for the
Navy but, because I was under 21, I couldn't even
vote let alone buy a drink. Like you, I didn't
like that..not one bit! So, why was it OK to enlist
or draft kids like me who were considered too
young to vote or drink? Here's why: that age group
was, as it still is, very impressionable, teachable
and at peak physical strength. But, the key element
is that most young people feel invulnerable, they
have yet to learn the fear of dying!! For those
who experienced the horrors of combat, this attitude
was quickly changed.
Inevitably, the voting age was
dropped to age 18 as was the drinking age in 29
states during the early '70s. What were some of
the results? Alcohol related deaths and injuries
quickly skyrocketed in the 18 to 25 age group....Many
of them, today's parents, became hard drinkers.
By 1988, every state increased its minimum drinking
age to 21 in response to the pervasive national
mood against drunk driving plus the threat to
cut federal highway funds.
Solid scientific studies of the
effects of this increase in the drinking age found
that states on average reduced drinking among
high school seniors by 13.3%. Further, there has
been a 52% drop in alcohol related auto deaths
among 15-20 year-olds since 1982. Yet, youthful
drinking persists....fully half of today's college
binge-drinking kids arrive with drinking problems,
having started while still at home. Children who
start drinking before age 15 are 5 times more
likely to become alcohol dependent adults; 7 times
likelier to be involved in a car accident; 12
times likelier to be injured. Clearly, there's
a huge benefit to delaying the first drink.
In 1997, the then Governor George
W. Bush, having previously cited his daughters
("they respect discipline") as evidence
of his own fitness to punish other kids and true
to his law-and-order stance, worked for and signed
some extremely harsh Texas laws regarding alcohol
and drug use among minors, one of which puts a
third-time offender (a minor!!!) behind bars for
up to 6 months.
Studies of high schoolers show
that most consistent nondrinkers have unusually
sound relationships with their parents, fearing
less their discipline than the idea of disappointing
them. The president was once a rather spectacular
drinker, meeting at least two medical criteria
for alcohol abuse. It is my hope that he has been
or, at least will be, forthright with his daughters
about his past; steel himself against charges
of hypocrisy, and keep in mind that his warnings
must come from love, not a desire to look better
than he is.
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