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Brad
Carter
English 1010
September 24, 2008
Drinking Age
Currently, the legal drinking age in the United States is set at twenty-one years of age. I believe this to be completely absurd. Who is to say that just because an individual is twenty-one means that they are mature enough to consume alcohol in a responsible manner? The legal drinking age should be changed to eighteen years of age. Eighteen year-old individuals have the freedom to take on many adult responsibilities, yet they do not have the right to consume alcohol.
Reaching the age of eighteen is very exciting for everyone. You are immediately granted with several rights you have never had before. For example, being eighteen allows you to purchase tobacco products legally, even though statistics show that tobacco is more dangerous than alcohol. “In North America, tobacco use is responsible for more deaths than alcohol and other drug use, car accidents, murders, suicides, and AIDS combined” (www.paho.org). So why are young adults allowed to purchase tobacco, but not alcohol?
In addition to being able to purchase tobacco, eighteen year-olds are also given the right to vote. To me, voting is something that needs to be taken very seriously, and I do believe that eighteen year-olds are mature enough to handle that responsibility. Obviously, society agrees, for eighteen year-olds are still able to vote. If young adults are mature enough to handle voting, I believe they are mature enough to be able to buy alcohol.
Along with the privilege to buy tobacco and vote in elections, being eighteen also means that you are required to serve in the military if needed to. To me, this is the last straw showing that eighteen is the absolute age when teenagers are truly mature. If the government feels eighteen year-olds are mature enough to be shipped off over seas to fight in a war, there is no doubt they are mature enough to buy alcoholic products on their...