Drinking Age Essay, Research Paper

Why has America had so many problems with underage drinking? I think that there is way too much underage drinking by young adults in America. On the other hand, I don’t believe that it is their fault. I feel that the lawmakers should lower the drinking age. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1986 forces states to enforce the legal age of 21 years old or lose matching highway funds. Alcohol has been around since the beginning of time and its not going to disappear. I believe that alcohol is not a bad thing, unless you abuse it.

Today, most young adults start drinking early in their high school years at social gatherings. During those years, they endure many changes in their lives. They think that if they don’t drink like their fellow peers, they will not fit in. What they don’t know is that their body is still growing and alcohol can lead to many complications early in life. In many cultures drinking as a young adult is not frowned upon, you are encouraged to have alcohol in moderation. We, as a culture, need to look at alcohol as something that is not bad unless it is abused. If drinking alcohol were looked at as being a social act and not as something to do every weekend when you were bored, we would have fewer problems with underage drinking.

In addition, I feel that parents have a lot to with the problem. They are too naive to realize that their kids are going to drink. In most households, parents don’t approve of drinking. Rather, they should approve of you to drink responsibly if you are going to drink. In my household, I was brought up knowing that alcohol is not something that should be abused. My parents have trusted me to be responsible when drinking. They trusted me to make the right decisions. For the most part I have, except for one time that I will never forget, when I abused alcohol.

Furthermore, I truly believe that if you are able to fight for your country in a war, buy cigarettes, and be tried as an adult in court, you should be able to purchase alcohol. Therefore, I think that the legal age should be 18 years old. By doing that, I also believe that they should raise the penalty for driving under the influence. I feel very strongly against people drinking and driving because I’ve almost lost family and friends. I also realize that this could have very bad effects on the young adults of America. There could be many people who would abuse this law if it were to take effect. It all leads to the maturity factor and being responsible. I think that the government should make a compromising situation with young adults. For the most part, young adults drink on the weekend. So, I think they should allow us to drink on the weekend legally from 5 o’clock in the evening on Friday until Sunday 6 o’clock in the evening. That would give us an opportunity to go and have fun on a weekend without it affecting our lives.

Another contradicting fact is that alcoholism is a disease. Some people might assume that there would be more alcoholics, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they have a problem. I have a friend who has this problem and lowering the law would not effect how much he drinks. No matter what, he will get his alcohol every weekend. In conclusion, I hope what I have told you has persuaded you into believing that they should lower the drinking age. Although it seems farfetched, I think when you are in college you are responsible enough and can make a mature judgment.