Should Drinking Age Be Lowered Essay

Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered

Alcohol consumption in the United States is a prominent phenomenon that it has sparked the debate on the age limitations regarding its use. In more than fifty states in the United States, the legal drinking age is twenty-one years which is comparably high relative to countries such as Germany, Belgium and Denmark that allow even sixteen year olds to purchase wine and beer. There are several reasons that necessitate the drinking age to be lowered from twenty-one years to eighteen years in the United States. These reasons are not only leveraged on following trends between countries but also on creating moral responsibility among teenagers. To this end, this essay seeks to analyse the reasons why drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years in the United States.

Firstly, when one turns eighteen years old in the United States, they are deemed to be adults by the society and the law also recognizes them as adults. This gives one

However, according to an interview done by Griggs (2014) for CNN News, the earlier the younger people start drinking the safer they become. He points out that the more forbidden alcohol becomes the more of a “forbidden fruit syndrome” it gets. Citing examples of countries such as France where parents serve kids small amounts of alcohol during mealtimes, Griggs (2014) suggests that it becomes unproblematic for parents to educate their children about alcohol consumption and take away the taboo fascination which is more often than not attached to it. Failure to this, the taboo allure drives teenagers to sneaky drinking sprees that offer a thrill of breaking the law to get a drink. CBS News notes that setting the drinking age at twenty-one does not solve the problems of underage drinking but rather drives it underground in the least manageable of settings; where even the moderation that is done by parents cannot be