StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18 - Thesis Proposal Example

Cite this document
Summary
This paper explores the reasons leading to an appeal for the reduction of the legal drinking age from the age of 21 years to 18 years. This is in order to have a nonbiased argument towards or against the respective groups and their opinions the age that alcohol consumption should be allowed…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.7% of users find it useful
Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18"

Drinking Age should be reduced from 21 to 18 Introduction - There are a number of reasons leading to an appeal for the reduction of the legal drinking age from the age of twenty-one years to eighteen years Thesis - This is in order to have a nonbiased argument towards or against the respective groups and their opinions the age that alcohol consumption should be allowed I. Discrimination The issue of discrimination is a crucial determinant that calls for the lowering of then legal drinking The factors, in this case, relate to the past and the ages of our fore fathers and their drinking habits In the early days, anyone was allowed to drink regardless of his or her age (Spiess) In modern times it creates a society in which the youth are discriminated against in the country The youngsters have as much right as any other human adult to take his or her drinking seriously without any inhibitions II. Decision-making The age of eighteen years is the legal age for one to make decisions for him or herself The government recognizes the potential and power wielded by the youth in building the society and contributing to its wellbeing Eighteen year olds should be entrusted with the discretion of alcohol consumption III. Traffic accidents The statistics show that there are more traffic accidents in the first couple of years after age 21 (“Drinking Age”) The deductions show that people starting from the 21 - 24 tend to have more accidents than other age groups put together Lowering the age reduces the chances of conducting experiments based on one’s liquor handling capabilities Lowering the legal age of alcohol consumption will work positively towards a constructive society based on social beliefs and taboos (CBS News) IV. Conclusion The legal drinking age should be brought down to eighteen from twenty-one There are a number of reasons leading to an appeal for the reduction of the legal drinking age from the age of twenty-one years to eighteen years. This is following the indifference in the disparity found between the two age groups in relation to their drinking habits and resultant behaviors. As a result, it is crucial to analyze the reasons as to why the legal drinking age should be lowered and the reason behind those that oppose the move. Therefore, this will ensure to have a non-biased argument towards, or against the respective groups and their opinions on the age that alcohol consumption should be allowed. Discrimination The issue of discrimination is a crucial determinant that calls for the lowering of then legal drinking following the consideration of a number of factors; in this case, the factors relate to the past and the ages of our fore fathers and their drinking habits. In the early days, anyone was allowed to drink regardless of his or her age (Spiess). As a result, in modern times when the age of drinking has been increased to 21 years, it creates a society in which the youth are discriminated against in the country. Consumption of alcohol is done by people over the age of 21 years at their own volition. Why not allow those at the age of 18 years participate in their alcohol drinking antics freely and without any form of restriction from the authorities and the law, as well as other authorities. The youngsters have as much right as any other human adult to take his or her drinking seriously without any inhibitions. Failure to allow this amounts to discrimination based on age, which, in turn, sets a poor example to the same young people that the law is attempting to protect. This is in relation to showing them that as long as one is not of a given age, one’s conduct or behavior is restricted to certain bounds that cannot, or must not be crossed. In the early times, consumption of alcohol was an event or act in which anyone could engage thus; we should allow the memories of the ancestors to come to life by giving permission to those who can handle their liquor, to take part in alcohol consumption. In the above case, of discrimination, the youth need to have a good example in life. This is where they are treated as other members of the society with responsibilities and privileges, unlike the current drinking policy allows. The above argument may be misquoted to mean that since the age difference is minimal, that younger people may be sucked into drinking. This is not the case, as the discrimination should qualify ages for their wellbeing, such as those aged below eighteen years. This is to safeguard their health up to a time that they are free to make certain decisions of their own, such as those of drinking and those that concern their safety concerning health and social relations. Decision-making In addition to discrimination antics, the issue of decision-making comes closely to compete or aggravate discrimination against the youth; this is in relation to the age of eighteen years being the legal age for one to make decisions for him or herself. Legal decisions in this case refer to signing of contracts that are legally binding to the signer, voting, participating in jury duty, and even enrolling in the military for potential drafting in cases of war (“Drinking Age”). This means that the government recognizes the potential and power wielded by the youth in building the society and contributing to its wellbeing. With this in mind, it shows how much the government trust the ability of an eighteen year old to make crucial life changing decisions that involve the overall welfare of the nation and society. This is particularly so in jury duty and drafting into the army through the Selective service, where one’s life is usually at stake or the fate of other members of society. For this reason, the government and other policy makers that are involved in making decisions on the consumption of alcohol should entrust the eighteen year olds with the discretion of alcohol consumption. This is seeing that crucial aspects of life are at their hands, but some of the most basic decisions are made for them. Therefore, the legal alcohol drinking age should be reduced from twenty-one to eighteen to show trust in the youth and their abilities. Counter arguments against this call for the age to be maintained following the idea that eighteen-year-old people are allowed to make such decisions is because they are free from the influence of common substances, of which alcohol is one. However, those chosen for jury duty, a significant task, are usually over the age of twenty-one meaning that their argument becomes, and remains invalid as it sidelines both ages, although not entirely. Traffic accidents The legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years following the proof that statistics provide in relation to road safety, especially accidents affiliated to drunk driving. The statistics stated in this case refer to information showing that there are more traffic accidents in the first couple of years following attainment of the legal drinking age of twenty-one (“Drinking Age”). The deductions from the statistics show that people starting from the age of twenty-one through to twenty-four tend to have more accidents than other age groups put together. Lowering the legal drinking age should therefore, have a profound impact on the rate at which traffic accidents occur based on alcohol consumption. This is following the belief that there are bound to be measures put in place to supervise the drinking habits of the youth. In addition, lowering the age reduces the chances of conducting experiments based on one’s liquor handling capabilities, as opposed to what happens when one is twenty-one and has just discovered alcohol. In addition, lowering the legal age of alcohol consumption will work positively towards a constructive society based on social beliefs and taboos. This is as seen in cases of youngsters joining college, where alcohol is consumed in excessive amounts because; there is not a legal opportunity to do so (CBS News). Lowering the age to eighteen will therefore, result in fewer cases of unruly behavior and traffic accidents affiliated with drunk driving. In conclusion, the legal drinking age should be brought down to eighteen from twenty-one following the image boost and numerous benefits it is bound to bring. This is to both the public and the government, as well as to individuals who engage in alcohol consumption at the age of eighteen. Works Cited “Drinking Age”. Procon.org. 2012.Web. 29 October 2012. CBS News. The Debate on Lowering the Drinking Age. 2010. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. Spiess, DJ. “696 Very Good Reasons Why We Should Lower the Drinking Age”. Fermentarium. 2008. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18 Thesis Proposal”, n.d.)
Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18 Thesis Proposal. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1460841-argumentative-essay
(Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18 Thesis Proposal)
Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18 Thesis Proposal. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1460841-argumentative-essay.
“Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18 Thesis Proposal”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1460841-argumentative-essay.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Drinking Age Should Be Reduced from 21 to 18

Should the legal drinking age in the US be reduced to 18

The main concern of the paper is to identify and answer the question: “Should the legal drinking age in the US be reduced to 18?... Proponents of lowering the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) from 21 argue that it has not stopped teen drinking but has instead pushed underage drinking into private and less controlled environments thus leading to life-endangering behavior by adolescents.... Opponents of lowering the minimum legal age from 21, on the other hand, are of the opinion that by 18 or even 19, teens have not yet reached an age where they are capable of handling alcohol responsibility and therefore when they abuse alcohol, they are more likely to harm themselves and others....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Alcohol Addiction and Adolescents

The project also reported a serious increase in the number of adolescents using alcohol, with 60 percent of 15-16 year-olds, and 85 percent of 17-18 year-olds, having consumed alcohol within the past month (Smart, Vassallo, Sanson, Richardson, Dussuyer et al.... The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW 2003), for example, reported that approximately 35 percent of 14-17 year-olds, and 64 percent of 18-24 year-olds, consume high-risk levels of alcohol....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Impact of Advertising on Tweens

While some authors advocate that tweens are informed young consumers and are not manipulated by ads; others claim that advertising and marketing campaigns have a deep (negative) impact on uninformed children, who should be protected from this exposure. … Bergler (1999)comments that bans are ineffective as ads only influence market share.... The questionnaire should be administered to children in year 4-8 in a variety of schools (state, private, boarding & day) in rural, urban and suburban areas in the South of England....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Lower Alcohol age to 18

Or, should MLDA be lowered to 18?... As mentioned above, in the 1970s, a movement toward lowering the legal drinking age to 18 started in the U.... The idea was that if 18-year-olds were mature enough to take part in an election and to fight and sacrifice their life for the nation, they were mature enough to consume alcohol… As time progressed, interest arose over adolescent alcoholism and alcohol-linked road accidents, and, in the 1980s, several states invalidated their previous resolutions by increasing the MLDA to 21....
12 Pages (3000 words) Research Paper

Effects of Alcohol on the College Performance

The purpose of this study is to test alcohol effects by carrying out an independent Research Experiment entailing the services of 30 students (of more or less similar IQs and backgrounds) from the local University, 15 girls and 15 boys (out of which 7 girls and 7 boys are teetotalers).... Their average age was 17 years and they had no previous history of alcoholism-related problems.... The paper "Effects of Alcohol on the College Performance" concerns determining the positive or negative impacts of drinking by college students, on their learning and academic performance....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

Influence of Smoking and Drinking on Higher Education in the United Kingdom

Data were extracted for this section in exactly the same way as it was done for the previous section based on reports from NHS.... I will need to explore this theory within a specific age group and the age group chosen for this task is between 11and 19 years.... This age bracket represents young adults who are more likely to be part of an educational system while being subjected to the effects of smoking and drinking.... Since this transitional period in life is guided by a number of factors that the individual is not able to fully control so there is a large likelihood to break off with education in this age range due to the detrimental effects of smoking and drinking....
17 Pages (4250 words) Coursework

Legal Drinking Age

The research paper describes the topic of Legal Drinking Age in the USA providing arguments and counter-arguments for lowering the minimum drinking age from 21 to 18 as it used to be before the law was signed by former President Ronald Reagan on July 1984.... One of the major reasons that people use in arguing that the minimum drinking age should be 21 years is the issue of health.... hellip; Initially, the minimum drinking age in the USA used to be 18 years....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us