Politics, News & Issues >
Government & Policies
Get a Widget for this title
RSS Feed
Should the national drinking age be lowered to 18?
Should the national drinking age be lowered to 18?
Title endorsed in part by:
Results so far:
| Yes | 54% | 377 votes | Total: 702 votes | |
| No | 46% | 325 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesIf one is old enough to die for our country, one is old enough to drink ! It might be true that the maturity level of an 18 year old isn't up to par sometimes, but if one is mature enough to protect our country, then drinking responsibly should be legal. Notice the word "responsibly", and not all late teenagers will drink like a mature adult. But not all adults are mature either, so where does one draw the line?
Just because someone turns 21 years of age, does that make them mature? Of course not, as the age limit is nothing but a guideline. However, if one is mature for their age, then handling alcohol is just another obstacle to be overcome.
In some European countries, kids grow up drinking wine or beer at a very young age. France and Germany come to mine, but there are many other countries where these liquids are part of everyday life. Most of these families don't think twice about serving wine to the family. Because not such a big deal is paid to the overindulgence of these drinks, it is an everyday part of life. And because it is part of life, the overindulgence is not as common.
The drinking age has been argued about for years. It seems when the automobile enters the picture, that is where the trouble begins. It's true that there is a higher rate of death for younger drivers than for older ones. Alcohol is to blame for most of these deaths, but so are other drugs. Also, just because the drinking age is higher doesn't mean that kids aren't going to drink. In fact, the challenge is to get the keg of beer or bottle of wine because it's illegal to have. There is something more thrilling when one is not supposed to possess it.
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 signifies that revenue will be withheld from states that allow alcohol to be purchased by anyone under the age of 21. It's going to take a lot of hard work and campaigning to change this law. The fact of the matter is that this law works, so why change it? It was passed primarily for safety reasons, and the traffic fatalities went down dramatically when this law was passed.
So what's the bottom line? The fact is that drinking and driving don't mix. That's why that law was passed. And it has worked. Even though I agree that one is an adult at the age of 18, the fact is that there were too many "adults" that ruined it for the the responsible ones. If one is desperate to drink, or do drugs for that matter, they will find a way no matter what the law is. But the fact is the highways are much better for all of us now that there are fewer drunk drivers on the roads. And no matter which way you swing it, the drinking age has always been tied to the driving of automobiles....
Learn more about this author, Anthony Megna.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
The national drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen for several vital reasons. As responsible American adults, we must have full insight and understanding into the ramifications that such a change in this law would impute on our children, on our society and on our future.
There have been many studies conducted on the effects that alcohol has on adolescents under the age of twenty, and the results support the fact that the national drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen. The US government publication entitled the Prevention Alert has set out vividly the negative side effects that alcohol has on teenagers including alcohol dependency, mental development, alcohol influenced suicides and car accidents caused from being under the influence. The statistics from some of these researches can be viewed online at http://www.teendruga buse.us/teensandalco hol.html.
Eighteen is a very fragile age because the average eighteen-year old is at a turning point in their life. They will graduate from high school and are expected to put aside their childish nature and develop a more responsible attitude towards their future. Some teens adjust naturally while others struggle with this sudden change in thinking and lifestyle.
Alcohol relaxes the mind and the body and if it becomes legally accessible to teens, many will use it (or abuse it) to get through these struggling times. The detriment of this action, however, is that early consumption of alcohol as a support could lead to alcohol dependency or abuse.
If the drinking age is lowered to eighteen, then we are imputing a responsibility on to teenagers that they may not be able to mentally handle because they are still not fully developed. In other words, if the teens are not able to control their alcohol consumption responsibly, we may be pushing them towards alcohol dependency or abuse by enforcing legal rights on to them instead of accountable rights.
The teenage years are filled with learning and experiencing so they can acquire maturity. Their bodies may resemble that of mature adults, but their minds are still developing, and are very susceptible to influence.
One research shows that teens who drink alcohol have a shorter attention span and less ability to learn and maintain what they have learned than those who don't drink alcohol. If they are allowed to drink legally at the age of eighteen, they could be stunting their own learning abilities and their potential to successfully achieve a career.
Statistics show that the leading cause of death in teenagers between the ages of 15 and 20 is driving while under the influence of alcohol. Teens at this age have not yet developed responsibly and they take risks and assert carelessness that mature people would avoid or prevent. Alcohol is a stimulant that encourages them to take even more risks. These facts support the issue that the national drinking age should not be lowered to eighteen.
Teens who suffer from depression and stress frequently turn to alcohol as their crutch to get them through their problems, but the mix is often disastrous. Studies show that the third leading cause of death among people between the ages of 14 and 25 is suicide where alcohol was the main contributing factor. If the national drinking age is lowered to eighteen, teens will become legally able to drink their problems away and there is nothing adults can do to help them. Why? Because in their mind, they already have the answer and the adults gave it to them.
Teenagers are not being deprived of rights or privileges because they have to wait until a legal and acceptable age to drink alcohol. If that reasoning were ever to become a valid one for making laws in America, we would destroy our hopes and dreams of a happy and prosperous future. We must always stand fast to a founding benchmark that says, privilege comes with responsibility and not from self-imposed rights.
Learn more about this author, Ronnie Dauber.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Government & Policies
- Was President Bush right to grant control of records to a president's family?
- Is it okay for politicians to accept dinners, vacations and other "gifts" from lobbyists and supporters?
- Should American farmers continue to receive government subsidies?
- Should the Freedom of Information Act cover Congressional records?
- Should earmarks be used to fund projects conducted by major corporations?
- Should Congress be allowed to pass bills that neither the public nor their representatives/senators have had a chance to read?
