The "Drive for 25", a campaign to raise the legal drinking age to 25, was one of the National Union's campaign promises in the 43rd Congress election of 1986 (when the NU still hadn't quite found its testosterone-fueled law 'n order niche). The campaign attracted little support and eventually crashed like a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level far over .08. Twenty four years later, "Drive for 25" is back, though with support mainly from the social conservative fringe parties such as Family Values Party and Chastity Party rather than the NU. Not to mention busybodies who don't believe in things such as personal responsibility and free choice.
Why flog this dead horse? Apparently there are elements in Patria who believe that raising the drinking age to 25 would cut down on impaired driving as well as get the culture of drinking out of college campuses. Didn't anyone ever tell these misguided social crusaders that a lot of drunk drivers are over 25, and college campuses are not limited to 18- to 23-year-old kids.
Just as in 1986, the 2010 "Drive for 25" campaign is destined for failure. Patria's legal drinking age is 18, the same age at which it is legal to join the armed forces, vote, serve on juries, and do a whole lot of other adult things. Yes, it is true that drinking is a privilege, not a constitutional right like voting. But there are better ways to fight drunk driving (e.g. lifetime license revocation, serious hard time in prison, even special "convicted DUI" license plates) than raising the drinking age to 25 (why stop there? why not hike it all the way to 30?). How will making 40-something folks born in the 1960s produce photo ID in order to buy beer at the ball park help deter drunks from getting behind the wheel?
Welcome to the Inner Realm of Patria's official blog. Patria is a micronation established in 1818 that exists only within the hearts and minds of those who dare to be in the Bhav!
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