America has the highest legalized drinking age in the world. We are considered to act like adults at a pretty young age however we still feel childless and young because we don’t have the same opportunities as a “21” year old does. Some of the biggest countries in the world have holidays where kids of all ages drink as a tradition. The deaths from alcohol in these countries are less than the us, which should tell people something. I think that if you grow up around a legal drinking age of 18 instead of 21 kids would mature more at any earlier age.
Legal Drinking Age should not be changed to 18 Different arguments have been raised on why the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18. The most common argument is based on the voting age. A person aged 18 years is allowed to participate in presidential elections. As such, people have argued that a person that can choose the president of the United States is mature enough to decide whether to consume alcohol or not. Although this argument has logic and makes sense, it does not consider the reason why the legal drinking age has been set at 21.
Is it right for those 18-20 to be denied alcohol consumption? Are they responsible enough to consume it? Despite the opposition insisting that drinking earlier on will only lead to potential harm for those under 21, an 18 year old is considered an adult, can serve in the military, can vote, and ultimately, should be allowed to make his or her own choices regarding alcohol consumption. As Ruth Engs, a professor of Health Sciences at Indiana University once stated, “the twenty-one year old drinking age law is not working, and is counterproductive, it behooves us as a nation to change our current prohibition law and to teach responsible drinking techniques for those who chose to consume alcoholic beverages (Eng, 1999).” To make an educated decision on the debate, however, both sides of the argument need to be evaluated. Why should the drinking age stay at 21?
No longer is it a juvenile detention center they will go to; it is jail. Law assumes they are incapable of making the decision whether or not they should drink, but they are held responsible for every other choice. Many men and women, at the age of 18, join the military each year. Also, 18 year olds are eligible to be drafted for war (Ailas 2). This country will place them in grave circumstances and let someone’s blood be on their hands.
This rule stated that a person would not be eligible for the draft until four years removed from high school. Spencer Haywood was the first to challenge the rule in 1970, and the rule was stuck down as being in violation of section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust act. The NBA then established a financial hardship exception, but quickly abandoned it by 1972. From then until 1995, mostly only college underclassmen took advantage of the absence of an age limit: only 2 high school seniors declared themselves eligible for the draft from 1972 to 1994, when Kevin Garnett was drafted. For the next ten years many more high schoolers followed in Garnett’s footsteps, 38 seniors from 1996-2005 were declared eligible for the draft.
During this development alcohol negatively affects all parts of the brain, including coordination, motional control, thinking, decision making, hand-eye movement, speech, and memory (Pg.2 Par.6). This shows that alcohol does affect the underage drinkers mentally and physically. Additional binge drinking is common among teens and can cause liver disease. Lastly, the current MLDA is set to the right age, but it is not
They believe that most young adults do not know how to drink responsibly and in moderation. (Jolley, 2008). This can lead to young adults being tempted to buy alcohol for younger teenagers. Many groups that are for lowering the drinking age bring about the reasoning that 18 year olds are awarded all responsibilities of adults except being able to consume alcohol. (Jolley, 2008).
87% of high school seniors have used alcohol. That means that a large quantity of teens under the age of seventeen to eighteen have used alcohol before (web; teenink.com). Adults drink for many reason as do teens. But one of the most popular reasons teens drink is they like the thrill they get from knowing they are “breaking the law”. During the teenage years teenagers think they have to fit in and seem cool.
According to CDC.gov one in six adults binge drinks about four times per month and consumes roughly eight drinks per binge. Also about 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of twenty-one in the United States is in the form of binge drinking. This is not because the under twenty-one year olds are less responsible but because the drinking is being done outside of the bars, clubs, and restaurants where there is no one to cut you
Brandon Corris English 60 M. Shahisaman Feb. 7th, 2012 Legal Drinking Age – Argumentative Essay Ever encountered a belligerent drunk that was not of age? Every day more and more underage kids are using, or abusing alcohol. Furthermore, the drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen because less teens will be motivated in taking on the new found responsibilities of a young adult, fatal accidents will surely be increased, and younger and younger kids will be involved in crime. First off, eighteen year olds do not have enough experience with driving or alcohol to be operating anything while under the influence, let alone a motor vehicle. More so, a teenagers body is not matured enough mentally, nor physically, to execute decisions that hold another person’s life, or freedom at stake.