Music that makes me happy

In a time of particular stress I find myself turning to the bluegrass sounds of Chris Thile and things of the same sound. I used to play a lot of that type of music it makes me think of how much fun it was. I just like the way it sounds and if I hear a nice lick or solo it makes me happy because I think its cool. I'm not exactly sure why I turn to this type of music but I guess its something that was a big part of growing up and sort of a foundation for me. Its always something I can come back to and I find comfort in that. If I get a little to tired of drilling my classical repertoire and exercises I can rip off a hot tune and sort of re-center myself emotionally, mentally, and musically. I know this probably sounds weird, but I'm sort of weird. It is what helps me, so I'm going to stick to it.

should the drinking age be lowered?

I kind of straddle the fence on this argument but am leaning towards one side a little. I think that compared to the other activities that are allowed at 18 drinking is trivial.  Should we be able to vote on our nation's leaders that have the ability to change all the policies they want, but not have a beer?  We can buy cigarettes which are just as, if not more harmful to your body than alcohol. We can go to war, and die fighting but can't have a drink when we come home on leave.  People can even become a commercial pilot or adopt children at age 18, both of those entail being responsible for someone else's life and safety.  I think that is a much more important privilege than drinking. Take Europe's policy into consideration; they have a much lower drinking age and everything seems to be fine for them.  Alcohol is not a special thing over there, it doesn't make you cool if you break into your parent's liquor cabinet on the weekend.  They have no need to do that so I feel like they have less incentive to be corrupted by it instead of enjoying it socially.  There has always been the argument that "If something is illegal or against certain rules then more people are likely to do it." People are always looking for ways to fit in and be socially accepted. For some, sneaking around and drinking is a conversation topic that they think makes them look cool or like rebels. So, maybe if alcohol wasn't such a guarded substance young people wouldn't go after it as much. Think about people over 21, they probably don't drink as heavily or have crazy parties as much as people in the 16-20 range. Of course there are going to be exceptions to every rule but for the most part drinking becomes more social and not quite as crazy.  Maybe that is because the fun edge has been taken off, its not as exciting or a big deal as it used to be. The other side of this argument is that people that young cannot possibly handle unlimited exposure to alcohol and still function correctly. Maybe this is true, cultures of the world are very different so what works for one place might not work for another. Either way, the debate always ends up back at the other fundamental privileges of 18 and 21. Why are we allowed to do so many other important things but not drink legally. And if we were allowed to drink legally how would it be regulated? There are a lot of exterior factors that go into deciding whether or not the drinking age should be lowered. This is just my perspective.