The following Tweet basically says it all:
As renowned sociologist and youth rights activist Mike Males has repeated noted, it seems to be a great American pastime to scapegoat kids and teens for adult problems. Alas, COVID seems to be no different in that regard. One thing European countries generally haven't done is force kids under age 12 or so to wear face masks, even in countries where adults are required to. Whereas while American adults generally have more freedom than their European counterparts now (aside from Sweden and a few other countries), there are many places in the USA (even some parts of Florida where school administrators are openly defying their governor) where kids as young as TWO are forced to wear masks AND (anti)socially distance in school and sometimes even in daycare too. The USA is one of vanishingly few countries who currently does so, and also one of vanishingly few countries that is in such a hurry to vaccinate kids under 18, let alone kids under 12. Even 18 months into the pandemic. schools and even colleges are becoming increasingly prison-like these days--and yes, even for those who got "baptized" with the magic vaccine.
That is of course very reminiscent of how alcohol is treated: the USA has a drinking age of 21 and strictly enforced (with the young drinkers themselves targeted disproportionately for punishment), low alcohol taxes, and relatively lax DUI laws for adults by international standards (even if stricter than in the past). And alcohol is routinely used as an excuse for otherwise unacceptable behavior. Meanwhile, most European countries set their drinking ages at 18 or less (and often not even enforced), while alcohol taxes are higher and DUI laws are a lot stricter on average for all ages. And alcohol is far less likely to be accepted as an excuse for otherwise unacceptable behavior.
And in both cases, defenders of the status quo smugly claim that "Europeans may be able to handle more freedom, but Americans can't." Because reasons. All without seeing the irony in literally implying that Americans are inferior to Europeans!
We at Twenty-One Debunked of course support lowering the drinking age to 18, while also raising alcohol taxes and toughening DUI laws for all ages. And when it comes to COVID, we believe it is long past time to end all restrictions for all ages, period, regardless of vaccination status. These restrictions were originally supposed to be short-term measures to "flatten the curve", that is, to merely delay infections a few weeks to avoid catastrophically overwhelming hospitals and buy more time. That's it, that's all these measures are capable of doing. Beyond that, they are all pain and no gain. Then the powers that be decided to move the goalposts repeatedly, and as they say, the rest is history...
Imagine the counterfactual where young people were the ones in charge. By March 2020, or perhaps even February, imagine if young people decided to "ground" their parents and grandparents just for a few weeks to protect them from the virus, while young people were free to live life as normal, partying and all. Raves, keggers, and even cruises would continue at least for everyone under 30 or 35. Schools and colleges would be as wide open as the rest of the economy and society. And instead of discharging contagious COVID patients back into nursing homes, we actually got serious about protecting their vulnerable residents. And instead of putting all "nonessential" workers of all ages on the public dole for 18 months, imagine if they took that money and instead used it to pay for a voluntary three to six month sabbatical for any workers who were over the age of 60 and/or immunocompromised or with otherwise serious underlying conditions. And we made any and all promising early treatments and prophylaxis readily available to all from the start. And we otherwise let the virus rip, which the virus kinda did anyway under lockdown albeit slower and more painfully. How many lives could have been saved that way? I think we already know the answer by now. And herd immunity would have been reached well before the vaccines were launched.
This disgusting perversion of American Exceptionalism needs to end. Yesterday. Seriously ageists, KNOCK IT OFF! The song "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd comes to mind.
Quite ironic that America is supposed to be the Land of The Free. Now, it's increasingly like the old Soviet Union. What you have with some of your policies such as the drinking age, is basically bordering on, well, let's call it out for what it is: Socialism. Seriously, it's ID cards for this, massive bureaucracy for that, and the Stasis will throw you in a 're-education' camp if you dissent. In libertarian circles in the UK, we refer to your country as the Democratic People's Republic of the Twenty-One Drinking Age, also known as the United States of America.
ReplyDeleteSad but true, Wayland. We are the Land Of The Free no more it seems. Another nickname for my country is the People's Technocratic Republic of Amerika.
DeleteWhat do Julius Caesar and America as we knew it have in common? Both died on the Ides of March. Though America has been getting progressive less free since around 1984 or so when they raised the drinking age to 21. And it all went downhill from there it seems.
I was actually thinking of you when I wrote this article, especially the part about how defenders of the status quo imply that Americans are inferior to Europeans, and yet can't see the irony in their own beliefs. Thanks for commenting. Have a nice day :)
I think that Puritans have had a lot to do with the mindset of our country since the 17th century, including when it comes to the current pandemic response.
DeleteI wouldn't even call America technocratic, as technocrats don't necessarily believe in utopian state control. They could more often in fact be cynics and libertarians. For example, Brazil was run by a kind of technocratic dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. Government spending and regulation were kept very low and there were no drinking age laws or anything like that.
ReplyDeleteNo, we shouldn't dignify America's system with a term as moderate as technocratic. It has much more in common with Socialism; A utopian attempt to create a perfect society through arbitrary and tyrannical means. And socialism isn't neccessarily 'left-wing'. Don't forget that Hitler was a socialist. Mussolini also called defined himself as a socialist. Fascism is essentially 'right-wing' socialism, while Marxism is 'left-wing' socialism.
Basically, the whole left-right spectrum is a false paradigm. The real divide is between open and closed, with open being about freedom and closed about being control.
And thanks for thinking of me when you wrote your article.
Prohibition was supported by progressives in the Progressive Era in the early 20th century.
DeleteIt's important to emphasise that these progressives were Socialists, not Liberals.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, ageism is a core value of American culture. This is why legislators in this country always pass laws which have raised the minimum ages for drinking alcoholic beverages and for tobacco products to 21. Scapegoating young people who are under 21 should always be challenged for the bigotry that it is. When it comes to masking children at school, the same line of thought follows because this is an ageist country.
ReplyDeleteI really feel sorry for younger kids and even teenagers throughout this whole pandemic nightmare. The years that are suppose to be a time of being carefree, a time of development and self-discovery, experiencing different rites of passage have all been put to a screeching halt by adults who can't get it together and the obsession of getting to zero COVID.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, ageism is unfortunately very much part of American culture.
DeleteWell you aren't protected from age discrimination in America until age 40 and that's only for employment purposes.
DeleteKids cannot vote, although the some are old enough to make their voices heard in many other ways. Since they are not old enough to vote though they have little political power to influence what happens in their schools. Do you think the voting age should be lowered to 16 for at least local and school board elections?
Delete16 for local and school board elections, 18 for state and federal.
Delete16-17 year olds are allowed to drive (albeit with restrictions), have full-time employment, have reached the age of consent in many states, and are are allowed to join the army (17 with parental consent). We recognize adulthood is a gradual process, so why not let them have a say at least in their immediate community?
ReplyDeleteI am all for lowering the voting age to 16 across the board for all elections.
DeleteAgrees, a voting age of 16 is a good idea. The National Youth Rights Association supports the idea of a voting age of 16.
DeleteRealistically, lowering the federal voting age to 16 is not going to happen anytime soon. Both Republicans and Democrats oppose it. It's been brought up in Congress for a vote before. Didn't pass. Lowering the federal voting age requires a constituitional amendment. States and their respective local governments (unless the state constituiton says otherwise) have the power to change their voting as long as it's at least 18 or younger, you cannot go higher per 26th Amendment. Many, (especially on the right) laugh after and mock college students who are old enough to vote and some wouldn't mind if the voting age returned to 21, so lowering it to 16 federally is not an option right now.
DeleteBut the reason I suggested just keeping it 16 for local and school board elections is to ease kids into voting and politics. Let them familiarize themselves with local issues first. Believe it or not, politics starts right at home, in your backyard. It starts from the bottom on up and your local government is the most responsive. It also coincides with the time that many 16 year olds take US government classes in high school. Once they're 18, all hands on deck.
ReplyDelete"local governments are better positioned than national governments to tackle particular challenges within their own contexts. Local knowledge is the feedstock of good governance, even if it does not always produce perfect policies. At the very least, being so close to a relatively small electorate — both in terms of decision making and revenue — helps elected leaders voice the tune of their constituency.
ReplyDeleteCitizens, in turn, feel a sense of empowerment from active participation in local government, which ideally leads to more civic engagement. This is how municipalities become schoolhouses of democracy." (Michael Hendrix, Real Clear Policy 2019)
Very true indeed.
Delete"Nearly three-quarters of Americans trust their local governments. And Congress? Just 40 percent trust our country’s legislative branch — the lowest of all major institutions in this country"
ReplyDeleteBut my overarching point is that it's easier to make progress with lowering the age on a state or even local level first. For example, starting in 2013 five cities in Maryland allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections: Takoma Park, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, and Mount Rainier. The policy has proven to be a success, with 16- and 17-year-old voters turning out at higher rates than older voters, and with local leaders reporting young people engaging with city government in new ways. In the 2020 election, 16-year-olds in Oakland California won the right to vote for school board directors via ballot iniative.
ReplyDeleteYes that is true. It's the foot in the door strategy.
Delete