Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Drinking Age

Here in America, teenagers and young adults are not given the exposure and experience of drinking legally until the age of twenty-one. Popular belief encourages the enforcement of this law, but postponing the education of alcohol does more harm than good. The prohibition of alcoholic beverages did not work in the past nor is it working currently, it is only encouraging irresponsible behavior from adolescents. Though many people disagree, the legal drinking age of the United States should be lowered to the age of eighteen if not sixteen.

What do the young Americans gain from this failing attempt at prohibition? (Other than added danger and irresponsibility to drinking due to the lack of experience or learning environment to gain responsibility)

Adolescents experience internal and external pressures on a daily basis. Many of those exposed to alcohol consumption second hand do not know the dangers that could follow. Kids are exposed to alcohol by billboards, tv shows, magazine ads, friends and family members. Because they have absorbed the good drinking habits they've seen, those raised around responsible drinkers are more apt to be responsible drinkers themselves. A majority of teen drinking dangers lie with those in broken situations. The ones that do not know or do not care. To kids with a troublesome home life, alcoholic relatives, or those internal and external pressures, drinking “fixes” the anxiety, depression, and stress (Dailey). Teens with the “rebellious” side that think binge drinking is “cool” and do not care about their well being can be known to TRY to get drunk, and routinely (Chafetz). This is why it is our job to teach alcohol as a cultural norm, in hopes to prevent dangerous teen drinking and encourage

Yes, it is true that driving after consuming alcohol unnecessarily kills thousands of people a year; but it’s our own fault for driving intoxicated (Main). Many people discourage the change of the drinking age because not only are another 5,000 people killed a year thanks to alcohol, it is also a major factor in violence, rapes, and assaults (Main). However, consider this, if violence such as this comes from drunken anger, wouldn’t the best answer be to discourage drinking to the point of intoxication rather than postpone education and awareness? In a survey, over three quarters of adults questioned believe that lowering the drinking age would be harmful to youth by making alcohol more accessible at a younger age (Main). On the contrary, it would only promote early exposure and experience. Wherever there are cons there are pros that contradict each