6 ms·
> Because at 18 people are responsible for their own actions This is only because we arbitrarily picked an age - we used to consider people responsible for the
by e_i_pi_2 3y ago
> Because at 18 people are responsible for their own actions
This is only because we arbitrarily picked an age - we used to consider people responsible for their own actions at much younger ages, it makes sense to change the number when we get new science supporting that. If the argument is that we shouldn't use brain development as a reason to restrict young people, then why not lower the drinking age again or get rid of it?
- joezydeco 3y agoThis right here. Seems like the USA is all about arbitrary rules, isn't it? You can join the military and drive a tank into war at 18, but god forbid we let you have a beer afterward.
- jstarfish 3y ago[dead]
- awkward 3y agoScience has discovered that the age of 25 is when neuroplasticity starts to decline. So what? There's a lot of argumentation needed to link that physical threshold with legal restriction. It seems like you're arguing that people shouldn't fully participate in society until they start losing their ability to learn. Have you met people who've lived overly sheltered lives until the age of 25? Their tolerance towards risk is low. Their ability to adapt to new experiences is busted. Forcing that on a society wide scale would be nuts. The science does throw in a lot of complexity between the social ideas of freedom and the physical effects of alcohol. But have you met 18 year olds? They're drinking.
- FireBeyond 3y agoThere's also the issue of life expectancy. In the US, for males? 77 years. Now we're basically saying "For the first third of your life, we're going to dictate a lot of what you can't do".
- bufio 3y agoPolicy should not be informed by TikTok memes about brain development.