The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 in the United States and allowing these young adults to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions (Engs). There are several ways responsible drinking can be shown and taught. One way is by older adults being good role models of this as well as educational programs that focus on responsible drinking and why it is important. Right now in most states in the U.S., the legal drinking age is currently twenty-one, although the majority of students in college are consuming alcohol and not always in a responsible manner (Engs). When these students are drinking under the age they see it as rebelling against authority and realize its risky behavior and still choose to partake in it making their actions irresponsible. “Prohibition, which banned most alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933, normalized the frenzied sort of drinking that occurs today at college parties” (Glaser). My final point …show more content…
It is easily arguable that one or many of those ears way more responsibility than drinking alcohol (Fulton). America's drinking age is the highest in the world. One of the many reasons people under the age of 21 binge drink is to get the drink faster so they can go out (Daniloff).If the drinking age were 18 you wouldn't have thousands of 18-year-old kids getting drunk before going out to the club, or a concert, party, etc. We as the teenage generation would be able to go to a club, a bar, a concert or whatever and enjoy our drinks with everyone without worrying about getting caught or getting a drinking ticket for possession. It would be easier to come up with a DD since no one would be worried about "not being able to drink" next week or whatever
Once a person turns eighteen, he or she receives many rights and privileges. One major right that all of these teenagers are missing is the right to buy and consume alcohol. The question is posed is whether lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen would be a better or worse idea. Jeffery A. Miron, a senior lecturer at Harvard University’s economics department, and Elina Tetelbaum, a law student from Yale University, write in their argumentative article in Forbes Magazine, “The Dangers of the Drinking Age”, in which they believe that the minimum drinking age of twenty-one is not working. After conducting studies, they found that the minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has little or no effect on traffic fatalities. Lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen would likely have the same effects as the minimum age of twenty-one; it is reasonable to assume that underage teenagers may feel less rebellious knowing that they can legally buy and consume alcohol at the age of eighteen.
Half the United States population starts drinking at the age of 14.When you are 18 you have privileges like joining the army. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) You can go to war and die for your country but you still can not enjoy an ice cold beer. (Mitch Adams Lowering the drinking age page 1) How is being 21 different from being 18? How does three more years of not drinking make you mature enough to drink? The longer you drink the more you start to drink responsibly. (Katherine Reilly Why 21? Page 1) The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 because most teens under 21 drink, when you turn 18 you get tons of privileges, at you 18 are considered an adult and what is so special about the
Lowering the drinking age to 18 in the United States has been a source of controversy in recent years. It has been a controversial topic because many people disagree, while many agree with the topic. For example, the people who disagree and are against lowering the drinking age to 18 believe we should not lower the drinking age because 18 year old individuals are not responsible enough to drink alcohol. While, the people who agree we should lower the drinking age, believe we should let 18 year old individuals drink responsibly because at age 18 you are considered responsible enough to smoke, join the army, be a legal guardian, buy a rifle, and vote. In my opinion, I believe the legal drinking
A college report showed that most kids are drinking to get drunk. In college a large sum and the majority of students are under twenty one. This fact is showing the immaturity of the students and more reasons the age should be twenty-one to drink. Drinking to get drunk and binge drinking are irresponsible which those under twenty-one are continually showing that they are. Yes there are adults who drink irresponsibly but the majority handle alcohol maturily. Some argue that there are children who drink responsibly, how can a minor drink responsibly when drinking at all is illegal. Binge drinking does more than harm the body , thsi is another reason the drinking age at eighteen would harm college students. Binge drinking increases academic struggles in students and while eveyone may not believe this, the actual reason for college is an education. By binge drinking obtaining this goal can be a challenge. While the college life is a large part of the legal drinking age there are other reasons it should stay at twenty-one. Drinking and driving is not acceptable by any age group and effects many lives every day. A vehicle is a weapon and operating this such weapon while intoxicated, or under the influence of any substance that will decrease your ability to operate the vehicle is foolish and dangerous for the driver, its passengers, and anyone who may be unfortunate enough to
To begin with, lowering the legal age of drinking is largely effective because National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse stated that 72.2% of high school seniors admitted that they had drank alcohol at some points in their lives which means most of teenagers drink before turning 21. Moreover, according to the article “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age” points out that allowing young adults (18-20 years old) to drink alcohol with supervision in public would decrease unsafe drinking activity. Elizabeth Glass Geltman, a resident adviser in her article “Lower the drinking age back to 18 : We don’t have students to teach each other drive, why is alcohol difference?” mentions that frat parties
In today’s society it is legal for an 18 year old to vote, be enlisted in the military, serve jury duty, buy tobacco products, live on their own and support themselves. Yet after all of that responsibility, these young adults are still not given the privilege to enjoy a few beers here and there. The current drinking age in the United States is 21 years of age, a controversial issue for many. The issue is exceptionally debatable and many people believe the drinking age should be lowered to the age of 18. Many college and university presidents disagree with the current legal drinking age and have come to the conclusion that outlawing alcohol to students under 21 makes the drinking problem worse! The national drinking age should be lowered
In 1971, the United States ratified the 26th amendment which lowered the voting age in America to 18. As a result of that change many people believed the drinking age should be lowered as well, and because the drinking age was the power of the states, many states country wide began to lower the drinking age to 18, 19 and 20 years old. By 1983, 28 of the 50 states had lowered their legal drinking age but on July 17th, 1984 President Ronald Reagan passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act, increasing the legal drinking age to 21. As a result, States were given an ultimatum which was to either raise their legal drinking age to 21 or face a 10 percent cut to their federal highway funding, and all states eventually raised their drinking age. Ever since
As a society, we have always been taught that you could not have an alcoholic drink till your twenty one. But there are people out there that think that we should lower that age to eight teen. A group of 129 college presidents are actually asking that there at least be a discussion to the argument (Lewis et al, 2008). They think that it would stop all the underage drinking at colleges and would teach kids at an early age how to handle alcohol (Lewis et al, 2008). In my option lowering it would not help all the problems we have with alcohol. I feel that it would just cause more alcohol abuse, but there is some good to lowering it.
Discussions arise among Americans in regards to changing the drinking age to 18. Is this a good idea, or are we just trying to accommodate for the way we treat young adults? Several studies show that when the drinking age is 21, older adults are happier about it. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that National Minimum Drinking Age of 21 decreased the number of fatal traffic accidents for 18- to 20-year-olds by 13% and saved approximately 27,052 lives from 1975-2008” (ProCon.org). With information as previously stated, it is in good reason that we changed the drinking age to 21, and that we should keep it that way.
The issue of underage drinking has become extremely debatable not only in the United States but around the world. It is an important issue because teens are the future of this world. The majority of people oppose raising the drinking age to 25. If at age 18 teens are entering adulthood and have the right to vote, why not have the right to drink. But those who agree on raising the drinking age to 25 take into consideration the level of maturity and responsibility one has at that specific age. Drinking age indeed needs to be raised to 25 for the safety of everyone.
Although, people who opposing keeping the drink age at twenty-one have some good points; they fail to accept the good points of keeping it a twenty-one. When teens already have an issue with decision making and maturity, it creates an even harder problem to solve. Though some teens may be very responsible with life and could handle alcohol, most teens will struggle with being accountable for many actions. For example, many students today are consuming information that their brain is unable to handle yet. They constantly want to experience all of the things they have seen through the media, but they fail to realize that are unprepared to experience that emotionally (Elmore, 2012). Teens are unable to grow in maturity normally due to society
Drinking alcohol is a privilege,but it should be a right of an adult citizen. Thousands of people abuse it everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we should limit all adults from drinking because that's not reasonable for the people that won’t exploit that opportunity. I have a strong view that if you are 18 you are considered an adult so shouldn’t you be able to have all the rights and responsibilities associated with adulthood. If you’re considered an adult at 18 shouldn't you be old enough to purchase alcohol? Having a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) hasn’t prevented teenage drinking.
The issue of underage drinking has been constant for many years. The law for the minimum drinking age allows people 21 and older to legally drink alcoholic beverages. It is hard to enforce this law especially on college campuses where lots of underage drinking takes place. Someone that is 18 and older can get into some clubs where they are getting drinks even though they are not supposed to. There is a level of responsibility they needs to be taken when people are drinking. They should know how to handle themselves when alcohol is in their system. Consuming too many alcoholic beverages can cause health issues, behavior issues, and have other harmful effects on a person. The issues that come along with drinking alcohol will affect teenagers and college students more than it would affect someone that is 21 or older. The minimum drinking age law should remain at 21 to keep more young adults from encountering issues associated with drinking.
John and his friends were sitting in his dorm room when he got a text from another one of his college buddies about a party. You would think that it’s another college party that could get out of hand fast, but he decides to go. People will party, and drink, whether it’s legal or not, so wouldn’t we want to make them as safe as possible for them? Since 1984 the legal drinking age has been 21, but that hasn’t stopped many of the younger adults, ages 18-20, from partying with their friends, and consuming alcoholic beverages. It has lasted over the years as a popular way to rebel against parents, or other authority. Alcohol has a sort of “forbidden fruit” quality for young adults and teens because it is made out to be such a big deal by the government. Lowering it will get rid of this quality. The drinking age is set too high and I believe it needs to be lowered by changing the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Law (MLDA) from 21 years of age to 18 years of age.
When a teenager chooses to drink alcohol there is no way to tell the consequences from it. Sometimes people do foolish things that you won't remember and you aren't able to redo that day over. By drinking, young adults are putting not only your life at risk but your reputation. While some have chosen to commit crimes, such as robbing a store. Trespass on private property,Vandalize school property. Saying hurtful things to friends and family. These are all common to happen while under the influence of alcohol. An organization called Choose Responsibilities directly trying to lower the drinking the drinking age from 21 to 18. Choose Responsibilities is an organization which states “stimulating informed and dispassionate public discussion about the presence of alcohol in American culture and to consider policies that will effectively empower young adults age 18 to 20 to make mature decisions about the