18 or 21?

I'm in the process of fleshing out whether I support 18 or 21 to be the age of majority. I lean heavily towards 18, and I don't think there should be any 21 minimum age laws on the books as long as 18 year olds can go to war and vote. Just the same, this draft rumor crap has gotten me thinking more about the benefits of moving the age of majority back to 21.

I look largely back on my own experience. When I was 18, I was very anti-military. I was a smart kid, and I was pretty mature for my age, but I was still pretty foolish. At 18, I feared putting my life on the line in the event of war. If a terrible attack were perpetrated on the United States, I'd have probably been against war out of my own fears. At age 21, I was still foolish. But I was a wee bit wiser. I was still anti-military (I was in the process of being mugged by reality at that time. The transition was not yet complete), but I'm pretty sure I had gained enough maturity to put my life on the line for my country.

The process of growing up is taking longer and longer these days. I'm convinced that this is because people get married and start families at a later age these days. Three of the biggest maturing factors in life are getting married, having kids, and buying a house. I've done two of the three, and I've learned that as you do each one, you become more fully vested in America. As long as 18 year olds are in the majority, I believe that we will have trouble in times of crisis, times when we really do need to implement a draft (now would not be one of those moments).

Now, before I get angry emails and comments, let me qualify a couple of things. First, there are 18 year olds who are better than I at that age. It amazes me the bravery that many 18 year olds display. It makes me proud of this country. It is the minority of 18 year olds that are the problem. In a volunteer military, 18 year olds who volunteer is just fine by me. In fact, even with an age of majority at 21, I'd still support 18 year olds being allowed to volunteer for service. But when it would come to a possible draft in times of crisis, I think we'd be better off with an age span of 21 to 29 year olds. I might be able to support a 21 year old drinking age in such a stituation. Maybe. I will not toy with the voting age in this particular post. That is a Pandora's Box I'd just as soon leave to Jonah Goldberg to address.

Your comments are very welcome on this issue. I'm still open to the thoughts of others on this topic. Let me know what you think.