MSNBC: Debate on lower drinking age bubbling up

Proponents say current restriction drives teen alcohol use underground. Over the strong objection of federal safety officials, a quiet movement to lower the legal drinking age to 18 is taking root as advocates argue that teenagers who are allowed to vote and fight for their country should also be able to enjoy a beer or two. […] Choose Responsibility proposes lowering the drinking age to 18, but only in conjunction with “drinking licenses,” similar to driver’s licenses, mandating alcohol education for those ages 18 to 21. “Education works,” McCardell said, but “it’s never been tried. Now it’s mandatory only after you’ve been convicted of DUI. That is not an act of genius.”

Took over almost five years to catch up, but it looks like someone finally did… after all I said it first.

It occurred to me today that how asinine our culture can be. Has anyone else noticed that we’re content to push coloring books at kids without thinking about why we’d do that? I have no issues with the books themselves; I have issues with their limitations. Think of it this way: people have the most amount of imagination when they’re young – the older they get the more grounded in reality they become. Why do we feel compelled to give them pre-drawn coloring books? Or even pre-fab Lego kits rather than a buck of Lego bricks? Is it because as adult we’re terrified by the void represented by a complete blank sheet of paper? Or is it just “because”?

I dunno. Occurred to me during lunch today. Thought I’d share.

And for that matter, would it even pass for irony in the first place?