Should the national drinking age be lowered to 18?

by Rand E Oertle

Created on: July 09, 2009   Last Updated: July 13, 2009

THREE YEARS OF CONSEQUENCE

During the years, eighteen to twenty, nearly all young men and women crave peer approval, adult independence and youthful freedom. Mix them with a lethal sense of total invincibility and you have a deadly combination. Sadly for some, these three desires and the belief of being invincible, all too frequently come smashing together in a confluence of disaster.

It's a difficult situation because it can be argued that the inappropriate actions of some should not dictate perceived penalties on others. Certainly, not all those in these critical years act irresponsibly. The vast majority of young people are dedicated students and show responsible care in making their decisions. The question is: Where do we draw the line, for it must be drawn somewhere?

Statistics show that alcohol-related teen-aged deaths have gone up when the age was reduced to eighteen and down when the age was returned to the age of twenty-one. This is not an insignificant fact.

She was fifteen years of age and a sophomore in high school. Upon her death, her parents created a perpetual college scholarship fund in her honor. The scholarship specified that a group of students would be selected. One out of that group, chosen by a vote of that year's school seniors as being the most kind and helpful to other students, would be named the scholarship honoree. The only reason I know about the scholarship was that my daughter was the first recipient the honor.

The promising and talented fifteen-year-old, after whom the scholarship was named, was killed by a drunk driver who was 18-years-of-age. It was a tragedy on so many levels, it's hard to comprehend. But the saddest of all, is the fact that drunken teenagers, killing other teenagers, who are not drunk, is so common, that this tragic event hardly rates a mention in our world today. Another sad fact is it doesn't have to be a two-car accident. Single car roll-overs where the teen-aged driver has been drinking, has also taken many lives. It has become so serious, that some states now have laws restricting drivers from ages sixteen to eighteen, must have an adult in the vehicle if a third person is present.

He was eighteen years of age and a freshman at University. He pledged a fraternity. As part of the hazing ritual he was forced to swallow huge quantities of alcoholic drinks. He was later found passed out in the frat house storage closet. He didn't make it to the hospital.

He was a scholarship winning student with academic

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