Jailing Young Drinkers Won’t Help

Re “Dad Slinks Off Into Silence on Alcohol,” Commentary, June 5: It has been argued that lowering the legal drinking age to 18 is the best solution for the problem of 18-to 20-year-olds caught drinking illegally. While this may be true, the number of 15-to 17-year-olds who drink illegally would probably rise.

Underage drinking is a symptom of one major problem that causes many of today’s troubles, and that is lack of parenting. Often Mom and Dad work two jobs to get by and are lucky to have one day off work per week, luckier still if they get the same day off. When they leave early in the morning and get home late at night, when the children see more of the television than they do of their parents, we’re going to have problems. This is not to say that parents should be punished for their children’s indiscretions, rather that we need to find ways to help parents help their children.

Jail time for underage drinkers will only create more problems, not fix any. When getting a 16-year-old drunk off the streets, we should be sending him or her home to parents, not to jail. Every underage drinker needs to be escorted home by a trained counselor who can give Mom and Dad some words of advice and a place to seek help the next day. This is a solution; jailing our children is not.

John Pattison

Los Angeles

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Robert Scheer again reminds us of his bottomless well of hate for the Bush family. To use the twins’ latest episodes as a vehicle for bashing President Bush exhibits an obsessive attempt to destroy the president. If Scheer believes his essay to be tough and instructive, it is not; it is vitriolic, demeaning and lacks class.

Hugh G. Cunningham

Vero Beach, Fla

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Great article. Former First Lady Barbara Bush might be the brains of the family, saying: “He is getting back some of his own.” The family needs to address the drinking/substance abuse problem. With millions being spent by the U.S. on global drug enforcement, Bush needs to set an example at home and worldwide.

Larry Bartuzik

Malibu

As usual Scheer makes a giant stretch with President Bush’s silence regarding the first daughters. How about “had to ... work white-knuckle hard these past 15 years staying sober”? Where is the balance?

Richard Grogan

Yorba Linda