Unfortunately many states have taken the easy road and have become over-reliant on the federal government for support. In return they are forced to relinquish power and freedom. This is one of the “cons” to following the federal mandate of the universal MLDA of 21. The main argument against lowering the MLDA again, is the inevitable rise in drunken driving related deaths. In the 1960’s and 1970’s when many states had lowered the MLDA, besides the rise in drunk-driving deaths, studies showed that people raised from childhood in under-21 states were involved in higher rates of alcohol and drug use as adults, and had a higher rate of homicides and suicides.
An average person must wait until age 16 to start driving, age 18 to marry without parental consent, and age 35 to become president (Minton). The age limit for alcohol is based on research which shows that young people react differently to alcohol. This means that typically anyone is able to acknowledge to lower the drinking age. In Rober Voas' article "There's no benefit to lowering the drinking age, " he states that lowering the age for drinking alcohol would just make matters worse, along with a paragraph that states: "I keep hearing the same refrains: 'If you're old enough to go to war, you should be old enough to drink,' or 'the drinking-age law just increases the desire for the forbidden fruit,' or 'lower crash rates are due to tougher enforcement, not the 21 law,' or "Europeans let their kids drink, so they learn how to be more responsible,' or finally, 'I did it when I was a kid, and I'm OK.'"
The majority of the people voting for the age limit to drop to 18 are the people who are under 18 or who are 18. They feel that 18 year-olds are prepared to make responsible decisions about drinking (Amethyst Initiative). The Amethyst Initiative believes that lowering the drinking age will only make situations worse for society. But the fact is, these people are not thinking about the consequences and are only looking at the pleasure. “More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year—about 4.65 a day—as a result of alcohol-related injuries” (The Marin Institute).
The Drinking Age Debate: Should It Be Lowered, or Remain the Same? For many years there has been controversy about what the legal minimum age to consume alcohol in the United States should be. Many people believe that it would be beneficial to conform to the majority of other countries by lowering the legal age to eighteen. On the other hand, many believe that we should just leave the legal drinking age where it is now, at twenty-one. This controversy can be broken down into three main points of argument: safety, bingeing behavior, and maturity.
Is 16 Too Young To Drive? The question about increasing the minimum age for a driver’s license has been pushed to the headlines because of the growing amount of car accidents. Whether it would reduce or even prevent accidents of this sort or will simply do no good is the heart of this argument. The reason for wanting to raise the driving age is because it has been proven that teenagers have caused most accidents (Koroknay-Palicz). The argument is a big decision for whether it should be raised or shouldn't it be raised because of the consequences of both sides.
Dr. Harris 2/12/07 English 132 Age of Maturity Audience: This essay is directed towards public officials who agree that the legal drinking age should be 21. Purpose: This essay is to inform people about the arguments for the legal drinking age being changed from 21 to 18. Teenagers are considered adults when they reach the age of eighteen. If so, then how come eighteen year olds are not legally able to drink an alcoholic beverage? The law states that a person must be twenty-one years of age to legally consume alcohol.
Britney Pickering Mary Fahey English 1A; 2-3:20 16 April 2014 Legal Drinking Age: The American drinking culture is a nice chunk of American history, especially when one targets the youth and their rambunctious acts of drinking alcoholic beverages. All around drinking culture tends to be a very important factor when it comes to youth’s social life and although the legal drinking age is 21, everyday that law is broken. According to a study conducted in 2007 by NESARC, in the past years, 46% of young adults involved themselves with extensive drinking that were well over the suggested limits (Nakaya 39). This subject is crucial for others to investigate, especially that of the younger generation, because it will allow insight behind the
This can be seen through the laws that followed after the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, John F. Kennedy assassination and the killing of Martin Luther King Junior which were meant for the government to control the type of guns that citizens could carry and use. I would highly recommend that leaders and citizens to take part in the gun control measures and laws in order to improve their safety and that of their family from crime. I decided as I said in the beginning to pick this topic because a majority of individuals have been affected by gun violence and it has become a menace to society. I will end with “Guns do not kill people. People kill people” at the end of the day gun lobbyists, owners a like and the general public should advocate for laws that encourage buyers and owners to demonstrate that they can possess a firearm lawfully and responsibly.
The medical irresponsibility of allowing teenagers to drink alcohol on a legal basis is also obvious to those who have basic knowledge. Consuming alcohol on a regular basis can negatively affect the development of an individual’s brain’s frontal lobes, which are responsible for emotional regulations, as well as planning and organizing. Underage individuals who consume alcohol put themselves at more risks of addiction, decreased ability of decision-making, tend to behave less responsibly, and may become violent, depressed, and even prone to suicide. The so called “trickle-down effect”, well known to sociologists, is another reason against lowering drinking age which should be taken into consideration. This effect implies to individuals who already have a right to purchase alcohol and consume alcohol, while also tend to buy it for their younger
Raising the Driving Age Aside from suicide, teenage car crashes are the number one reason for teenage fatalities. The problem that causes this is because we are not preparing our teenagers enough before they are let out on the road. We are expecting too much responsibility from these teenagers that only have one thing one their mind, having fun and being careless. Driving is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly and I feel if we raise the driving age and prepare these kids more we can help in the number of kids that we are losing in car crashes. Each state has their own set age and guidelines for driving.