Opinion
Lower drinking age could aid terror war
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Also by Cynthia Martens:
- Readership dropping for newspapers (October 31, 2005)
- French protests not entirely rational (April 7, 2006)
- Dynamics change for college dating (November 14, 2005)
- Language always amusing (April 14, 2006)
- Religion interferes with FDA ruling (November 21, 2005)
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The fake ID industry is booming, and with the latest technology, students and terrorists alike are getting savvy about their driver’s licenses.
While the college crowd begs for little more than admittance to campus bars, criminals use fake IDs for more sinister purposes. Police officers, bouncers and airport officials struggle to differentiate between real IDs and really good fakes. The New York Times recently noted Internet resources and advanced computer graphics software are so good even ID scanners are floundering.
A Transportation Security Administration representative observed individual airlines have the most control over who boards planes. “We suggest airlines require government issued IDs,” she said. “We’re mainly looking to see the person has a boarding pass.”
Asked whether the TSA was concerned about the increasing sophistication of fake IDs, she noted: “We’re always concerned about that.” However, she added, “If Joe Blow terrorist had an ID, before he even came to us, he’d have to go through the airline first.”
The most practical way to help officials crack down on terrorists trying to board planes with fake IDs is to eliminate student demand.
Any other approach, like it or not, pits government officials against very strong market forces. If students could drink and go to bars at 18, you’d better believe the fake ID business would take a dive. Those shady California and New Jersey IDs would be history. Some high school students have fakes, but in my experience, it isn’t until college that many consider having a fake to be a social necessity.
Lowering the drinking age is not encouraging drunkenness. Students get drunk often enough as it is, legally or otherwise. Many students who use fakes simply crave access to the local college hangouts. At 18, young adults can already get married, watch or perform in pornographic movies, own guns, serve on a jury, vote and join the army.
If it will screw the fake ID industry and help fight terrorism, why not make drinking legal at 18?
While many view the drinking age as a cultural given, it’s actually a recent development. Twenty-one years ago — July 17th, 1984 — the federal government threatened to cut off substantial funding for highways in states that refused to raise the drinking age to 21. States’ rights advocates were outraged at the intrusion on individual state laws.
Much of the push came from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other groups rightfully concerned about the correlation between fatal car crashes and intoxicated drivers. Still today many people worry lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 will increase the number of drunk driving incidents.
According to the World Almanac, 15-20 year olds make up roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population. Young drivers — especially young male drivers — account for a much higher share of injury and fatal car crashes than they do of the general population. Still, their share of alcohol-related crashes, while greater than their share of the population, is significantly smaller than their total share of accidents. Proponents of the current drinking age would cite this as proof the drinking age works. This assumes the only reason for a lower share of alcohol-related accidents is the 21-year age limit reducing access to alcohol. Yet zero-tolerance policies and the penalty of loss of a driver’s license may motivate many young drivers to be more responsible behind the wheel. Other possible explanations include teenage curfews and parental pressure.
The zero-tolerance laws in place already discourage teenagers from driving drunk. These laws should remain tough. With sufficiently strict laws against drunk driving — maybe even especially strict laws for young drivers — I doubt drunk driving would be anymore of a problem than it already is, in the long run.
If the law were consistent in discriminating against age groups that account for a large number of drunk driving accidents, it would forbid those over 69 from drinking as well. Senior citizens over the age of 69 make up about the same percentage of the U.S. population as 15- to 20-year-olds and are also disproportionately represented in drunk driving accidents.
Campus prohibition undermines the war on terrorism and fails to keep students from binge drinking. It pushes students who are desperate for complete adult status to view drinking to excess as proof of maturity.
A Wisconsin Department of Homeland Security representative told me he was unaware of any departmental investigations into the fake ID industry as a threat to national security. Considering the number of police officers raiding Madison’s college bars, I find this alarming.
The college demand for fakes isn’t going away. Until drinking at 18 is legal, the police are going to be wasting their time on college students holding beers instead of focusing on terrorists using fake IDs in a much more threatening manner.
Cynthia Martens (cmartens@badgerherald.com) is a junior majoring in Italian and European Studies.
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Cynthia is hot.
This made me laugh so hard, I my body hurts! Thanks, only a college student could come up with a story about lowering the drinking age to thwart terrorism. This should be on the tonight show!!!!
get over it. In our country discrimination only matters when it is against certain groups. young people tend not to be one of those groups,so that is where it ends.
I don't think the college fake id industry has much of a relationship to terrorist ids either. that was a truly far fetched idea you came up with Cynthia.
Why aren't these editorials ever about politics or current events? Instead they ar about drinking and dating...wtf? terrible newspaper.
Any demand for a fake ID, nonetheless a good one, pushes technology to be better and better. I could rationalize her viewpoint that if you take the majority of the fake ID demand away (college kids) the number of suppliers and innovations would decrease. Nonetheless, the market would still be there -just smaller. Guess you froshies will just have to wait like everyone else, get used to it.
Pretty soon it will be RFID chips in the forehead for everyone.
Maybe with a small explosive charge to discourage tampering and allow for remote termination of transgressors.
This is the kind of forward thinking I like to see from the student body. Much better than some blowhard spewing filth about whatever the story of the day is.
Kudos!!
cute to boot.
Well, I don't know how to take this one. While agree pretty much with every individual point I'm still not quite sure how they tie together. A more logical argument to fight terrorism would be the legalization of drugs. If we created the drugs ourself we wouldn't have the need to support the drugs of their world countries.
legalizing drugs would have little affect on terrorism. Especially muslim terrorism.
A unique point. A touch strange, but she might be on to something.
I think this article was meant to be a bit whimsical. I find it quite amusing, and whether you agree with it or not, it is a valid argument.
Why do stories revolve around dating and drinking? 'Cuz we're in college dummy!
Lighten up guys. At least this story was original and came from the author's own mind, instead of being a bunch of regurgitated crap that she learned from either the Republican or Democratic agendas, that she barely understands but would stick to no matter what because it makes her feel smart and important and part of a group (which is pretty much every other opinion in this paper, or on this campus for that matter).
Lowering the drinking age could also help Terri Schiavo. Somehow.
"The most practical way to help officials crack down on terrorists trying to board planes with fake IDs is to eliminate student demand."
And the best way to do that is by eliminating students. So all you dumbasses who can't accept that the legal drinking age is 21 should consider yourselves flunked out of college. You'll probably end up saving your mommies and daddies some money that way anyway.