Legal Drinking Age

The legal drinking age in the United States will always be a point of contention. No one can settle upon a drinking age that everyone is in agreement with; should it be 18 or 21? Ages 18 and 21 are the most popular options, yet neither one has 100% of the vote. With the current legal drinking age in America standing at 21, meaning that people under the age of 21 cannot purchase or consume alcoholic food or beverages, there is the question of whether or not to lower it to 18 or 19 years old. This paper will argue that the drinking age should be lowered, and examine its impact on State University.

It’s no doubt that alcohol has a major sway on today’s society across the board both culturally and globally. When we take a look into past history, we can see how alcohol has been the fundamental measures to religious, professional, and social concerns. It seems that no matter how far our history books go back, the United States has had a question about the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Through the years of Prohibition halting the sale, shipping, and ingestion of alcohol and the constitutional acts delegating who is accurately fit to drink. Today’s controversy is a lot less infringing on personal rights. It’s regarding whether the legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. This has been a huge controversy geared exclusively towards college students due to the fact that alcohol consumption at universities is the definitive part of campus life even though the greater part of students are not legally permitted to drink. It is apparent that through the regularity and risks of binge drinking across universities and the high percentage of DUI and alcohol related fatal crashes, that something needs to shift in this country. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would be an expedient and positive step in reducing binge drinking, nurturing the safe practice of drinking alcohol, and permitting those students of legal drinking age the chance to fully and sensibly make mature adult choices.

Drinking and driving is still a problem today, and can even be seen in young adults. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 was instituted to reduce drunk driving. According to Michelle Minton, a fellow in consumer policy studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, states due to this act “ages of 18 and 21 actually increased traffic fatalities of those between the ages of 18 and 24 by three percent.” (Minton 22). Having an increase of three percent in traffic fatalities is by no means a small portion of the total deaths, with just an increase of three percent, many more young American adults have passed away, which could have easily been prevented. Even Anne McCartt, a vice president

Every year, thousands of deaths occur as a result of drunk driving, and every day people are facing the consequences of irresponsible drinking. Because of the issues caused by irresponsible drinking, the US government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 which raised the minimum drinking age to twenty-one to prevent drinking-related accidents and violence. Despite the intent of its passing, it was a counterproductive decision. Because of the higher age restriction, high school upperclassmen and college underclassmen see drinking as an exciting, rebellious act. Consequentially, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act resulted in an increase in dangerous and irresponsible drinking which continues to this day. Not only does the

Vivian Jones, the author of “Underage Drinking,” questions the drinking age limit, and wants to decrease the age limit for consuming alcohol from twenty-one years old to eighteen. Firstly, the author defines underage drinking as a danger to young adults and teenagers that are developing. Secondly, Jones states that raising the age limit for drinking is a controversial topic in society. Thirdly, Jones acknowledges that drinking underage is banned and as a result the young adolescents are more allured to drink alcohol and rebel. The author also states that more younger Americans are drinking in excess with comparison to the UK. The author writes that raising the drinking age will not stop the violence and crime, it would only help slightly. Also, Jones conveys that underage drinking is a major issue in today’s society. I disagree with the author, the drinking age should be twenty-one because it would first reduce crime, it would prevent death, and finally it would decrease medical problems.

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For countless young adults after high school the next stepping stone is college, however, students are not only learning from the classes they attend, but also from the parties. Consequently, they are being introduced to alcohol and plenty of it; learning how to shotgun a beer or attempt a keg stand is all the rage. Suddenly, people are viewing college binge drinking as a right of passage for even their youngest students. Thus, demands the questioning of lowering the drinking age to counteract college binge drinking. “The reality is that at age 18 in this country, one is a legal adult. Young people view 21 as utterly arbitrary—which it is. And because the explanation given them is so condescending—that they lack maturity and judgment,

The drinking age in America has been a hot-blooded debate of whether it should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen, or if should remain twenty-one. In recent years’ many American citizens have argued that twenty-one being the legal age to consume alcohol is a useless tactic to stop underage drinking. That the current age has driven more teens to drink recklessly and behind closed doors. But are teens mature enough to learn to drink properly prior to twenty-one? Although some teens still drink regardless of the law, with a higher drinking age young adults can learn to drink responsibly and reduce harm to themselves and others.

Many people today advocate for the drinking age to remain where it is, such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and the president of the American Public Health Association. MADD has been very active in recent years, whether it be through lobbying or mass media appeals. They often use scientific evidence, statistics, and their emotional appeal as mothers of dead children to coerce their audiences into believing that drunk driving and the drinking age correlate. For example, “Since the 21 law was widely enacted, the number of young people killed annually in crashes involving drunk drivers under 21 has been cut in half, from more than 5,000 individuals in the early 1980s to around 2,000 in 2005” (Dean-Mooney). Using solid numerical evidence boosts their appeal to logos, not to mention that these statistics are very easily decipherable. It is obvious to any reader that, according to this passage, a higher drinking age leads to less fatalities. The author of the piece mentioned here is also the national president of MADD, which

It has been a rising issue within the past century to have the drinking age set at 21, but many people are more in favor of having the age set at 18. For instance, “’Raising the drinking age to 21 was passed with the very best of intentions, but it’s had the very worst of outcomes,’ stated by David J. Hanson, an alcohol policy expert” (Johnson). Many people believe that having the drinking age set at 21 was a smart idea, but it has caused many more deaths and injuries over the years. Most of these fatalities are cause from people who are underage and choose to consume alcohol. Again, “Libertarian groups and some conservative economic foundations, seeing the age limits as having been extorted by Washington, have long championed lowering the drinking age” (Johnson). These groups see that keeping the drinking age set at 21 is dangerous as it causes more problems to the Untied States. If the drinking age was lowered, or set at 18, there would not be such unforgiving outcomes, like deaths and lifelong injuries, which are usually caused from people who are under the age of 21 drinking alcohol. Although there are numerous groups that are fighting to keep the age

There have been many recent debates on the subject of the legal age to drink alcoholic beverages in the United States of America. Some otherwise intelligent people want to lower the legal drinking age to eighteen rather than keep it at twenty-one, the current federally mandated drinking age. In Time Magazine Mary Cary, author of Time to Lower the Drinking Age, puts forth the position that lowering the drinking age would actually be beneficial to society. Though lowering the drinking age to eighteen may lead to solutions to underage drinking, many other, more dangerous issues may arise from teenagers who begin to drink earlier in life; this is the greater matter that and it should not be overlooked on this issue.

The Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) has been challenged since the passing of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 that raised the drinking age to twenty-one in all fifty states (Ogilvie). Advocates for lowering the MLDA to eighteen years of age argue that this change will eliminate the thrill of breaking the law for young adults entering college and boost the national economy. Supporters continue to ask legislature what the true meaning of “adulthood” is if an eighteen year old can serve in the armed forces and vote, but cannot drink alcohol (Lowering the Legal Drinking Age: An Analysis of the Pros and Cons). Those against the alteration, a majority of Americans, argue that twenty-one year olds are medically mature and more responsible, therefore reducing the amount of fatal traffic accidents (Minimum Legal Drinking Age).

Simultaneously, accidents involving automobiles without a doubt are devastating. How would one feel if a loved one was killed in a collision due to an intoxicated driver? Wouldn’t the individual want to do something about it? The death of the Candy Lightner’s daughter lead to her development of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act. This act gave full federal highway funds only to states that set the minimum age to purchase or consume alcohol at twenty-one years (Sanghavi). Once all states raised their MLDA to twenty-one years, drunk-driving accidents and deaths decreased. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the reduction in traffic fatalities due to the legal drinking age of twenty-one prevented 846 deaths in 1997 and prevented a total of 17,359 deaths since 1975 (Balkin 168). This single statistic shows that automobile accidents have substantially decreased in response to the authorization of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. In addition, the average teenager earns their drivers license at the age of seventeen. This being said, allowing a young driver with only one years experience (excluding a learners permit) to legally consume alcohol would surely be an irresponsible decision. Most people know

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This source was very helpful in validating my point about ignorance. Women struggle everyday against discrimination: color, gender, violence, and lack of equal opportunities. Celie is an example of an African-American woman exerting her right of self-defining. She represents any black woman’s experience, her voice stands for a whole community but, at the same time, she also claims her right of speaking as an individual voice. Therefore, Celie, is an individual searching for her place in society. In the same way, Alice Walker is also female Afro-American but most of all, a writer searching for her place in literature. This source helps better relate to my topic of racism and injustice towards African-Americans in the society. This source is