Up on the lake where I grew up, an Eagle Scout from Massachusetts threw a party at his lake house with his parents. Lots of friends came up for this party. It had alcohol--and lots of it.
quote:OBEDIENT A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobey them.
What a shining example of scout-hood.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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at least they were smart enough to make sure no one drove.
It was a bad idea for the parents to allow it to happen, but I can't really judge the kids involved. Heck, I drank before I was 21...actually I drank more when I was under 21 than I did once I became 21. As I got older I realsed that coke is cheaper than beer...and when buying things price is the first thing I look at. Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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Well, I had no alcohol at my reception when I was an Eagle Scout, but I pretty much agree with him. Things he should have done were:
1. Be more considerate of the neighbors. The article does not say whether they went to him before they called the police. If they did, he was asking for it, if they did not, the neighbors are jerks but that is irrelevant.
2. While these were his friends, it is relatively irresponsible to provide drugs to young teenagers as their brains are still developing. 17 and 18 year olds are one thing, 15 year olds another.
3. Were the parents of the boys who were not 18 notified of the alcohol? It sounds as though he just assumed, which is irresponsible as well. They should have had the opportunity to consent.
On a more general note, anti-party laws are fairly barbaric. Kids who want to drink, will. I know from my own peer group that the easier it is for them to be responsible about drinking and driving, the more responsible they will be. These laws encourage minors to be less open with their parents, because even if the parents would rather supervise a party it is now illegal for them to do so. But hey, as long as we send the message that recreation via chemical intoxication is wrong, because that is the important thing.
posted
I agree with Danzig. Party laws are ridiculous. Why can an 18 year old vote, get into debt, be sued, be called to jury duty, be held legally responsible in every way, but they can't choose to drink alcohol? Does this make any sense to anyone? If so, please explain.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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The rationale I heard was that drunk driving accidents went down. I am too lazy to look that up, so I will assume it is true, and assume further that MADD or another similar group did not doctor the statistics. It is still irrelevant. If one can die for their country, they should be allowed to drink. Period. Any law that says otherwise is a law that is unworthy of respect.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Things like this always make me wonder why other countries have fewer laws regarding drinking and yet fewer problems surrounding it.
Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I think you answered your own question. Anti-drug laws are counterproductive.
In other countries, it is ok for kids to drink, so it is not such a big deal. In Europe, they know that it does not matter if you have a glass or two of wine, or a few beers with a meal. Contrast that to here, where we have drinking competitions and people boast about how high their tolerance is. It is much less a rite of passage, so they do not bother to overdo it. Perhaps if the people who claim to be concerned about kids drinking focused on making responsible consumption viewed as the mature behavior, rather than the current paradigm, American teenagers would make healthier choices regarding alcohol. Instead, the gap between the number of alcoholic drinks that is considered "binge drinking" is rapidly approaching the number that are good for you.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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If the police even bothered to arrive here, and there were kids under 18, they'd either just tell them to keep it quiet, or actually drink some with them.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Moose, I'd have to say it's about the leaders, but they don't have to be LDS.
I had a couple of really awesome Scout Masters, but they ended up moving away, and I ended up not finishing my Eagle. (Although I did do my Project.)
Anyways: Without them as GOOD leaders I probably would have ended up more of a jerk than I already am. Posts: 1132 | Registered: Jul 2002
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