Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered to 18 - Essay Example

Your full October 14, Should the drinking age be lowered to 18? “There are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits that are not good until they are rotten” (Johnson). The issue regarding the age at which drinking should be allowed has been a hot topic of debate since ages. In United Sates, at present, one should be twenty one years of age to get allowed to buy and consume alcohol. Teenagers strongly support that they should be allowed drinking at very young an age because they get inspired by what their elders are doing; whereas, many parents and teachers oppose this strongly because they focus on health issues that are related to drinking specially at so young an age. This paper is going to support that drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. If we compare the drinking age in United States to that in other countries around the globe, we come to know that there are stricter laws in US about legal age for drinking. Most of the other western countries regard it as a normal social activity performed by an individual of any age. In European countries, and in England, children start taking alcohol, although a small quantity, with their parents. Wine is often a casual part of meal. Australia allows drinking at eighteen and England allows it at sixteen, and the teens consuming alcohol at so young an age are found to be perfectly healthy. This makes it easy to argue that a lower drinking age should be acceptable when the rest of the world is okay with it. Lawmakers are of the view that drinking should be legal at a higher age because as a person goes beyond his teens, he becomes responsible and knows when to drink and how much to drink. I believe that responsibility and maturity comes with experience and proper learning about something. Many people above twenty one may not drink maturely and many under age people can be mature enough. An 18-year old can also be responsible and mature about the consumption of alcohol provided that he has been educated well by his elders and in his educational institution. It is easy to teach a young kid of 18, as compared to an elder person, and make him learn how much of it is okay and how much is harmful. Parents in Europe teach their kids how to be responsible with drinking and then they set them free to try it out, but responsibly. In US, parents are so much fearful of the worse consequences and threats posed by heavy alcoholism that they inculcate this fear inside their children that the act is totally wrong and they cannot think about drinking before they reach a set age by the law. Doing so, as a matter of fact, increases the thirst. It is very natural for man to crave for something he has been forbidden. He wants to do things and try them out when they are told not to. This is because of his experimental nature that compels him to crave for something he cannot get. Adam ate the forbidden fruit because he had been specially told not to eat it. Similarly, alcohol becomes the tempting forbidden fruit for teens. Strictly forbidding kids to touch alcohol increases the curiosity inside them and then they turn out breaking the laws and standing liable for penalties. Studies have suggested that most teens drink out of their excitement that they get in breaking the law. “87% of high school seniors have used alcohol” (Harold). Hence, it is clear that a lot of high schoolers and teens do consume alcohol. Then what are the laws for? Medical science and psychological studies reveal that teens tend to be defiant and oppositional with rules, laws and strictness, and this is normal for their age unless they are understood and dealt with properly. They feel it good not to listen. Considering this fact, I believe that when the kids at 18 will be allowed to drink, it will lessen down their passion for alcohol. Again, this is because it man’s nature to stop thinking passionately about the thing he has achieved. Thus, allowing drinking at a lower age will lessen down kids’ thirst for alcohol. “I can assure you the under age drinking age percentage would drop if the age is lowered”, says Harold. Another good question is how far can you restrict a teen from obtaining a liquor bottle when he has got all access to his parents’ liquor cupboards? They can get it from their friends. They have better ideas than the lawmakers on how to obtain alcohol. So, whether they are eighteen or they are twenty one, they are getting it and consuming it. Lowering the drinking age will not harm them much but will be good in a way that there would be less law breakers. Another point is that at the age of eighteen, the person is considered as an adult. Why should an adult be kept away of activity that is meant for adults in the eyes of the lawmakers? If drinking is allowed at the age of twenty one, then the legal age for adulthood should also be raised to twenty one. No one should be allowed to vote or get into the military before twenty one. The point here is that when one becomes an adult at eighteen, is allowed to vote, go into military, marry without parents’ will, pay taxes, take loans, live in separate apartments, attend adult dance clubs, and etcetera, then why getting a few sips of alcohol is not allowed? It does not make sense that a teen is allowed to get married at eighteen but he is not allowed to enjoy the champagne toast at his wedding party! This also does not make sense that when a teen is regarded as mature enough to handle the consequences of his voting, or flying an airplane, and he is not thought to be mature enough to handle the consequences of drinking. The age limit of twenty one seems outdated as many teenagers have parents who were legally allowed drinking at eighteen. Kids these days are dealt with more practically at home and at schools and thus modern day kids are more likely to understand the pros and cons of an issue as compared to their parents or grandparents. The current age limit seems unrealistic and non-practical in today’s modern and, if I am not wrong, more sophisticated and psychologically mature society. When a person turns twenty one and gets the sudden opportunity to drink legally, he is very likely to make up for the time he had lost in not drinking, thus leading himself to binge drinking. Had he been allowed it at a younger age, there would have been fewer chances of binge drinking and alcohol abuse. Instead of restricting teens from drinking, schools and universities should arrange programs and courses regarding safe drinking. Teens are given classes on safe sex, not no sex. Then, why are they not taught about safe drinking instead of no drinking? The drinking age should be lowered accompanied by the system of educating teens on how to use alcohol in moderation. This way, they will start deeming drinking as a sophisticated social activity and not something for which they have to keep sneaking around with fake identity cards. Hence, the current legal age does not seem to be based on sensible foundation. Lowering it will reduce problems associated with drinking. According to Dr. Ruth Engs (qtd. in Solohub 25): I propose that the drinking age be lowered to about 18 or 19 and permit those of legal age to consume in socially controlled environments such as restaurants and official school and university functions…individuals of any age be permitted to consume alcohol under the direct supervision of their parents in their own homes. If we compare smoking to drinking, we come to know that tobacco is associated with as many health issues as alcohol. Still, smoking is allowed at the age of eighteen or even lower. If the reason behind not lowering the drinking age is health issue, then smoking should also be banned. Smoking is legal at any age when everybody knows that heavy use of tobacco causes lung cancer just like heavy consumption of alcohol causes liver cancer. The point here is again the way the thing is used. When teens are allowed smoking with the expectation that they are big enough to handle it, then they should also be allowed drinking with the same expectation that are mature enough to deal with it. Putting it all together, lawmakers should give it a try to lower the drinking age from twenty one to eighteen. Consequences must be studied and if they turn out bad, the law can again be changed back. Parents and teachers, instead of preventing the teens from touching alcohol, should be properly educated about its usage. They must be taught that they should handle it with moderation because heavy drinking comes with bad results. There is no point in that a person will become good enough to handle alcohol with sudden magic just when he turns twenty one. We all must know that nothing is good or bad but its usage makes it so. Higher age does not guarantee responsible usage; while, lower age can be made responsible through awareness. Works Cited Harold, Wyoming. “Drinking Age Should be Lowered.” Teen Ink. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct 2010. . Johnson, Samuel. Quoteland.com. Quoteland.com Inc., 2001. Web. 14 Oct 2010. . Solohub, Roman T. Clear Thinking When Drinking: The Handbook for Responsible Alcohol Consumption. USA: Thinking When Drinking, 2006. Read More