To Drink or not to Drink
Throughout the United States, many laws have been passed, changed, and abolished. Even as you read this paper, new laws are being formed, current laws are changing, and old laws are in the process of removal from our very constitution. On July 17, 1984, every state's legal drinking age was raised from eighteen years of age to twenty-one. Our government believes that two major reasons triggered the drinking age increase. According to statistics recorded by each year, teenage drinking is one of the largest causes of the many fatalities on the road. Others view alcohol as a drug to young America. America is one of the only nations in the world with such a high limit to the drinking age. Our bordering countries, Canada and Mexico, have legal drinking ages of eighteen years, and yet they have few problems related to teenage drinking. If an eighteen year old can make the same decisions that any person over the age of twenty-one can, such as voting or buying weapons, what seems so threatening about teenage drinking?As an adult, would you want irritable teenagers sitting beside you in a bar? In most case scenarios
Holding other factors constant, we found that states with an 18-year MLDA had an 8% higher suicide rate than states with a 21-year MLDA. In many other countries, bordering and overseas, the minimum drinking age is eighteen. " The view that teenagers are irresponsible when drinking is strengthened by these stats, which further supports the fact that alcohol should not be legal to any teen. "Officials should look to Western Europe, where drinking laws more accurately reflect societal mores. Their morals of life are different than ours, but the teenage drinking is still a factor in this logical equation. Engaging in legal and financial contracts also requires additional responsibility, as an eighteen year old must sign paperwork saying that he or she agrees to pay the payments for a car or rent for an apartment. In the United States, all drinking by older teen-agers is equally stigmatized (Schlafly). in most cases the answer will be eighteen. The mere thought of an irresponsible teenager drinking alcohol during their high school years is detestable. In the public and governmental viewpoints, if alcohol is banned from teenagers, they will be more responsible and the nation's drunk driving statistics will go down considerably. There are sometimes as many responsibilities upon eighteen year olds shoulders as there are on that of a twenty-one year old. Responsible drinking by 18-year-olds is accepted.
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