Do you remember your first taste of alcohol? How old were you? Twenty-one? All 50 states currently demand that their citizens reach age 21 before they can legally drink. But there's a growing movement that says mandatory minimum laws may do more harm than good. When determining the right date when a young person can take one of their final steps towards personal responsibility and freedom, what's the right answer?
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Let's keep it as is
Why shouldn't the drinking age be lowered?
There are so many different angles and opinions on a topic like this, it is obvious that this will be discussed for years to come.
I'd first like to point out that the United States of America is one of few countries, in the entire world, that has a legal age of 21 - 95% of other countries are 18 or younger - and our drinking age law is matched by ultra- conservative laws of Pakistan, Indonesia, parts of India and Armenia.
But, rather than arguing what other countries are doing, there are two fundamental questions that I would like answered: 1) at what age does society consider us as adults, and 2) to what extend do we allow our government to dictate what we do to our own bodies.
1) While this is a common argument made by those for lowering the drinking age, it is still a valid argument. Why is it that you are legally an adult when it comes to custody, jury duty, civic duty, you can purchase cigarettes (which kill more people a year than alcoholic related deaths), join the military, vote for our President - but you cannot purchase alcohol. When the drinking age was raised in 1984, was it solely traffic related deaths that pushed the law through and has it had a reverse affect?
2) I am completely for punishing those that break the law and maximizing punishment when breaking the law causing pain/suffering/death to others. However, I do not believe our founding fathers created the consitution with the current world in mind. Our government has granted liberties and taken away others based on what seems to be driven by lobbyists, money and power . I question if the drinking age has more to do with control and pleasing a select conservative/religous group, rather than the best interests of our youth or our rights as law abiding individuals.
I am sure it is obvious what side I am taking, but I will certainly take the "European Myth" article and post it onto my blog because both sides of the arguement should be heard.
My blog and website deal with drinking, drinking games , and college humor. It was not created as a means of glorifying excessive drinking or teaching kids how to do get loaded (but I'm sure some of you will disagree). Healthy debate has created this nation and I look forward to your comments on this site or mine.
- drinknird
April 19, 2009 1:12AM
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