|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by brissybee
(Post 10199111)
That's an interesting point. But then I think it's sad that people would get married or end up in a war at 18.
|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by furbacchione
(Post 10199122)
They're ideal because they are far more prone to being easily programmed to obey orders without question. Armies don't want people that think for themselves.
|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Yes,esp for BE meet ups,disgraceful behaviour:sneaky:
|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by furbacchione
(Post 10199117)
I think you misunderstand the point of laws in a "free" democratic society. They are designed to control the populous not be enforced with total absolution.
I would highly doubt that lawmakers or law enforcers would that obtuse to not know that there will always be an element of society that will deliberately disregard the law… But with adequate laws in place it allows the enforcers to keep things on a "civilised" level. Trying to restrict and or control the level of drug use in a society could hardly be argued to be a ridiculous endeavour. Under the same premiss of what you're saying here do you thing laws designed to combat homicide should be repealed because they haven't succeeded in stopping the killings? Or how about gun laws… especially when you consider the homicide rate in Australia has stayed relatively level from before and after gun control laws were introduced. Many people think anti-suicide laws are a complete waste of time and just plain stupid simply because you can't prosecute a dead person after the fact… But they misunderstand the point of them… They're there for a civilised society to make a statement that they are against suicide, and rightly so. Same as age of consent laws - I don't think you'd have the guts to argue that the age of consent should be reduced to 12 simply because there is an element of society that is having sex at that age... |
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by Zen10
(Post 10199127)
It's really a case that they can't have people who think for themselves. In stressful battles you don't want a "herding cats" situation.
|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by furbacchione
(Post 10199117)
I would highly doubt that lawmakers or law enforcers would that obtuse to not know that there will always be an element of society that will deliberately disregard the law… But with adequate laws in place it allows the enforcers to keep things on a "civilised" level. Trying to restrict and or control the level of drug use in a society could hardly be argued to be a ridiculous endeavour.
A law that cannot be enforced, that is disregarded, is worse than useless. Instead focus on the root of the problem, stop delivering age related absolutes, and deal with what you can actually do. Enforcers, as your describe it, are a net negative. |
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by roaringmouse
(Post 10199092)
I believe it's 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec?
Originally Posted by brissybee
(Post 10199111)
That's an interesting point. But then I think it's sad that people would get married or end up in a war at 18.
Many people join the military at 17 or 18. Should the age to join the military also be raised? |
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by GarryP
(Post 10199151)
Suggest you read the rest of what I said.
A law that cannot be enforced, that is disregarded, is worse than useless. Instead focus on the root of the problem, stop delivering age related absolutes, and deal with what you can actually do. Enforcers, as your describe it, are a net negative. |
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by GarryP
(Post 10199151)
Suggest you read the rest of what I said.
A law that cannot be enforced, that is disregarded, is worse than useless. Instead focus on the root of the problem, stop delivering age related absolutes, and deal with what you can actually do. Enforcers, as your describe it, are a net negative. To a degree I also agree with the notion of a disregarded law is less than useless. That's what democracies are about. If society says a certain way of doing things is "wrong" (wrong being based upon moral subjectivity which has nothing to do with true right and wrong) then a law(s) is enacted… And when society a few decades later decides it's no longer "wrong" and completely disregards the law, the relevant laws are changed or repealed. Or at least that's what is suppose to happen, YMMV Laws are simply about keeping society from reverting back to natural law; which could be loosely called survival of the fittest. |
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
I question the initial suggestion made in the article anyway - that young Australians would be better off. It just wouldn't make any difference and would simply criminalize the young as they continued drinking but on the sly.
Different cultures have different rates of alcohol consumption. Australia leads the world in beer consumption, for example, whereas Americans and Canadians drink far more of the "hard stuff" than Aussies. I'm not sure Australia has any more of a problem than anywhere else, it's just that Australians are less concerned about hiding it. |
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
A few things come from a law that's widely disregarded:
|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by GarryP
(Post 10199173)
A few things come from a law that's widely disregarded:
|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by Beaverstate
(Post 10199160)
The only age related absolute usually pertains to alcohol, driving and age of consent for a variety of concerns. I consume alcohol and know its effects. As I stated in a previous post, alcohol consumption is a risk better considered with a little age. Waiting an extra few years is not a punishment and probably saves a few billion brain cells.
|
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by mikelincs
(Post 10199179)
Only way really to restrict alcohol drinking to those above a certain age is to ban it from sale, except for specific places, where it must be comsumed on the premises, and then ID cards can be used to check the age of the drinker, so no drinking at home, no alcohol can be sold in the supermarkets etc. Any other scenario people will always find ways to obtain it, either by bluffing as to thier age, getting someone else to buy it for them etc, Home brewing must, of course, be banned. I don't agree with what I've written, but very strict policies on where it can be sold and drunk is the only way to stop young people drinking, and you would have to make the penalties really draconian, say 5 years in jail for a first offence, 20 for a second and a whole life tariff for a third. Would never work, and limiting the legal age for drinking will never work. I first started drinking in pubs at the age of 15, and my age was never questioned.
Where our culture is going wrong (around Howard's 1994 Act, and Dubya as well, etc) is the notion that legislation can replace personal and ethical self-enforcement as decided by each individual citizen. As more and more laws were added to the statute books, for increasingly petty infractions, more and more people started seeing it as an "us and them" situation, rather than a society managed by consent that they were 100% part of. So instead of people seeing governance as something they were part of, they saw it as something being done to them. Any attempt to ban or heavily restrict alcohol will simply end up with stills and brew kits in every loft and cupboard across the land. |
Re: Should Australia raise the drinking age?
Originally Posted by mikelincs
(Post 10199179)
Only way really to restrict alcohol drinking to those above a certain age is to ban it from sale, except for specific places, where it must be comsumed on the premises, and then ID cards can be used to check the age of the drinker, so no drinking at home, no alcohol can be sold in the supermarkets etc. Any other scenario people will always find ways to obtain it, either by bluffing as to thier age, getting someone else to buy it for them etc, Home brewing must, of course, be banned. I don't agree with what I've written, but very strict policies on where it can be sold and drunk is the only way to stop young people drinking, and you would have to make the penalties really draconian, say 5 years in jail for a first offence, 20 for a second and a whole life tariff for a third. Would never work, and limiting the legal age for drinking will never work. I first started drinking in pubs at the age of 15, and my age was never questioned.
But if you ban the open sale what do you get? Think of America in prohibition days..... |
| All times are GMT -12. The time now is 9:24 pm. |
Powered by vBulletin: ©2000 - 2026, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.