Imran calls increase in legal drinking age 'illogical'

“I’m taking this step because I’m troubled by a growing perception that young people need to be managed, that they need to be handled,” said Khan. “People feel we are incapable of making rational, informed decisions for ourselves. As members of a democratic society, it is our right and sometimes our duty to stand up and ask whether our government is doing the right thing.”

The 28-year-old stated that the best way to take a stance was to go to court. “Through the PIL, I will be requesting the government to review the law. It is my opinion and the opinion of many other people that this decision is contrary to our constitutional rights,” he added.

However, keeping his diplomatic standards intact, he was quick to add, “I do not endorse consumption of alcohol. Alcohol can damage health, it can ruin careers, it can tear families apart. I have seen this personally. But I feel that when it is agreed that a person is an adult at a particular age, whatever that age may be, be it 18 or 21 years, they should have the right to indulge in any activity of their choice which is legal in that country.”

The actor will also launch a campaign on social networking site Facebook, calling it Power To Youth and intends to launch a signature campaign.

Why I am a Conservative

The consequences of having only two political designations (liberal and conservative) in use today are really quite bizarre as is evidenced whenever one side demonizes the other. "Liberalism is a disease" Cries the far-right, as it rallies against progressivism. Anything progressive or liberal is deemed bad, usually called fascist (though this term is often used because it is in the economic interest of pundits to pander to the "libertarian" (scare-quotes emphasized) wing of the Republican Party) or perverse or against "God's Law" or whatever the Right wants to call the Left at time . But really, how far back do we have to go to find examples of times when progressive ideas had to struggle against the Right to gain traction and yet once they did were championed by all. The civil rights movement comes immediately to mind, as does the establishment of social security (which is a very popular program) and other welfare programs (we can all admit I think, that welfare programs as safety nets are necessary, though we can disagree on the extent to which they should be funded and administered). Yes, at one point in time it was considered "perverse" to treat black persons as equals and it was widely unpopular to allow blacks into greater white society. This, citizens is squarely met with stamps of disapproval from the Right. Now in some cases, this disapproval is acceptable. Take for example, affirmative action laws and regulations which disadvantage Caucasian and Asian males. These laws do no one a favor as they set different standards for different groups of people. But gay marriage for example, who is this hurting? Is it hurting the institution of marriage? Perhaps in some way, according to some people's beliefs, yes, but the institution of marriage faces far greater threats than homosexuals. People are not getting married at all anymore, even among the well-to-do and divorce rates are sky-high and have been for decades. Marriage is eroding, the nuclear family is not as stable as it used to be, these are obviously serious problems. But legislating in such a way as to put one group of individuals at a disadvantage because of your own inner convictions is in no way moral nor is it conservative, except perhaps in that sense that Liberals equate conservatism with bigotry. Conservatism is not, or at least should not be, a politics of exclusion. We should try to bring people together, not wedge them apart.

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