Drinking Age In the U.S. the age of adulthood is 18. And with that comes more responsibilities and decisions that can now be made without consents. Nonetheless there is still one thing a new young adult can’t decide on their own and that is if they will consume alcohol. The legal drinking age is not until you are 21 years of age. People argue that it should be dropped since it is an individual decision and 18 is old enough to make that decision. The legal drinking age should remain as is because the brain of a young adult is not fully developed till the age of 21. The pros of lowering the drinking age are just as acceptable as the cons. Lowering the drinking age to 18 is only fair since you already have the right to vote, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and join the military. Permitting 18- should 20-year-olds to drink liquor over controlled situations for supervision might diminish hazardous drinking movement. Bringing down the drinking age from 21 to 18 would decrease the excitement of breaking the law to get a drink. The drinking age now stands ineffective for the majority of teens still consume alcohol. Several law enforcement agencies ignore most underage drinking. And lastly, if the drinking age was lowered it would be good for the economy. The downfall of lowering the …show more content…
It’s there for a reason and is not the only law that prevents 18 year olds from legally doing something. For example, you can’t legally buy a handgun, gamble at a casino, or adopt a child until 21 years of age. All of which is due to responsibility and the safety of self and others. Meaning the drinking age now is completely reasonable and appropriate when considering the consequences of it being otherwise. Everyone had to wait till 18 to be considered a legal adult, what’s three more years? It’s better to be safe now and not sorry later. Wait till you 21 to drink for your sake and
Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered? Eighteen, that magical age, everyone has dreamed about turning. The number eighteen is significant in America because it is when teenagers are finally given the chance to become independent. Finally, you are no longer viewed as a child in the America, but as an adult. You can finally enjoy the same rights and privileges as other adults.
Contrary to stereotypical opinions, like the position of the organization MADD, alcohol can give the user many health benefits - if used responsibly. Lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 21 to 18 despite popular public opinion does not negatively impact society, and can in fact contribute to young adults’ growth and maturity into adulthood. When a person reaches the age of 18, it is considered the first step in becoming a full-fledged adult, which entails making important decisions regarding themselves, and others on their own. Provided that the age of adulthood is 18, logically it would encompass all of the adult responsibilities, including drinking at the ripe age of 18. Within the United States that is not the case.
Rhetorical Analysis This essay represents an effective piece of argumentation. The author states her purpose by saying teens are not mature enough to handle a lower age to legally drink alcohol. Tag? Joyce Alcantara tries to convince the readers that the age to legally drink should not be altered and assumes that the audience agrees that “Our youths today are the leaders of tomorrow” (468). With that, we must protect our years ahead.
“If the legal age were lowered in the US it would have to come with much more education in this area, not just the shock-value of Every 15 Minutes” said Ulrike Skillman, math teacher at Saugus. Skillman suggests the lowering of the drinking age will have to come with more alcohol education and that is the exact purpose of a “drinking license.” Which would allow 18 year olds to consume alcohol, with strict regulations, then take classes to officially receive a “drinking license” at 21 years old. The license would replicate a driver’s license, but be geared toward consuming alcohol.
The United States should lower the drinking age since it being 21 doesn't stop anyone. In the 70s the drinking age was 18 and it didn't make anyone a criminal. It would also generate a lot of money and since they made the age 21 a lot of teens have been binge drinking. The fact that colleges support lowering the drinking age tells you that it isn't a bad idea. A few of the colleges that support it are some of the best colleges in the U.S. like Duke, Dartmouth, and many more.
Over the years, there have been debates about lowering the drinking age in the United States to eighteen. People argue that if a person can fight in the military or vote in elections, then he or she should be allowed the right to drink alcohol. Others feel that it is not wise to lower the legal drinking age because the results would be dangerous. Although there are arguments for lowering the drinking age, there is also an abundance of research that proves lowering the drinking age would be destructive. The legal drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen because it will give high school and even middle school students greater access to alcohol, interfere with brain development, adult rights begin at twenty-one, and increase traffic accidents among the youth.
Alcohol seems to be an important part of daily life for many people. It's a substance associated with having fun amongst friends and family. Fortunately, certain laws help to protect us against the dangers that alcohol potentially brings upon our society. Although a section of the population argues for lowering the drinking age to 18, there have been many benefits with keeping it at 21. The main purpose of setting the Minimum Legal Drinking Age at 21 is to provide safety for the public, which should be the primary responsibility of the government.
all dropped to the age 18 or 19 . Thus, alcohol should stay away from young adults. In summary, the drinking age needs to be changed. First of all, health organizations are more involved with raising the drinking age, second of all drunk driving happens more frequently nowadays, and finally young adults and teens should not be drinking under the ages of 21.
Lowering the drinking age: risky or safe? When teenagers turn 18, they are told that they are adults and are sent into the world. They go to college, get a job, marry or join the military. They do grown-up things like vote, pay taxes and become parents, but they can 't go to the bar for a beer.
It has instead pushed underage binge drinking into private and less controlled environments, leading to more health and life-endangering behaviors by teens. If the legal drinking age was lowered, those teens would be able to drink in a more controlled and much more safe environment where they can be monitored and supervised. Then they will be less likely to harm themselves or others. The second argument that is used is that there are fewer drunk driving accidents in countries with lower drinking ages. In quite a few countries around the world, the legal drinking age is already 18.
Frat parties, for example, serve booze, often, if not always, without the supervision of a responsible adult (aka an adult over the age of 21). Lowering the drinking age to 18 can be beneficial in that responsible drinking can be taught before the student turns 21. My favorite analogy, by Huffington Post writer, Elizabeth Glass Geltman, says, “We don’t have students teach each other how to drive, why is alcohol different?” In her article on Huffington Post, she talks about her college experience in the 70s and early 80s, where the legal drinking age in the US was 18. She talks about how drinking was legal for most students in her senior year of high school and in college, and that beer was commonly served at dances, proms, graduation events, etc.
The drinking age should be lowered, because brains are not fully developed yet, colleges should be able to regulate drinking, and this can solve problems with kids underage drinking. Despite the controversy, the drinking age should decrease for many logical reasons. The drinking age has been a debate between the ages 18 to the age of 21 for a while now. Over the years, studies have showed favors toward the age of 21.
“ [The drinking age] is unfavorable because it forces youth to consume alcohol in unsupervised places that are risky and consumption may be abused.” The idea is, if the drinking age is lowered, youth will be able to drink in open, public places that can be supervised by others. By being public, it would decrease the risky behavior seen with alcohol in private, unsupervised settings. Pomata also asserts, “The age restriction inspires undesirable activities just as the National Prohibition Act did.” Some undesirable activities that are associated with underage drinking include the making and distributing of fake ID’s.
Though people believe it would be good to lower the drinking age, we should look at the death or injury rates where alcohol is the cause, compared to the rates of accidents from people who hadn’t been intoxicated. There has been much data collected over the years showing just how much healthier and safer not only the US is, but many other countries have become since raising the legal drinking age to twenty-one. If nothing else, look at the one third of every twenty-five, thousand people that die every year due to alcohol related crashes where the victim wasn’t even intoxicated. Not only does alcohol have life changing effects on the people drinking it, but also everyone around
Why drinking age should be lowered? If one is considered an adult at age eighteen in most of the country, are they not allowed to purchase and legally consume alcohol? The minimum legal drinking age needs to be lowered, and not just for that reason. The amount of teenagers with drinking problems and alcoholism is far greater than in Europe, where drinking ages are far lower. Also, studies show that the current minimum age drinking laws have been ineffective to a high degree.