Why the Drinking Age Should Be 18

1257 Words6 Pages
The minimum drinking age in the United States has and will continue to stir controversy as new proposals to lower the legal alcohol consumption age occur. Lowering the legal drinking age to 18 is something that has been contemplated time and time again by our “all-knowing” government who continues to make loose-ended arguments backed up by not so solid facts. In an attempt to shut down any further prying about lowering the minimum drinking age, the government is spending taxpayer money on the NIAAA, or the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Their job is to suggest counter arguments to any existing arguments about the already set drinking age. However, what most of us don’t know is that this agency is guilty of presenting deceptive and misleading arguments in promoting the current minimum legal drinking age. We, as citizens, have to question the legitimacy of their flawed arguments, and ask whether it is right that they include themselves in public and political debates. Furthermore, we have to really ask ourselves if lowering the legal drinking age to 18 is the right thing to do. Our nation has a severe problem with alcoholism. Banning 18-year-old adults from buying and consuming alcohol, has pushed adolescents behind closed doors and away from supervision by parents, residence life staff, and other adult authority figures. Alcohol has gained this forbidden allure. 90% of the alcohol being consumed by 18-20 year-olds is when the individual is engaged in an episode of heavy drinking. There are a lot of flawed and superficial arguments against having young adults drink, when in reality the argument is this: if we are really considered adults in the eyes of the government, should we not have all the rights 21-year-olds do? In my opinion, 18-years-old should be able to purchase and consume alcohol because in nearly all other cultures alcohol consumption
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