Alcohol And The Drinking Age

4 Pages 959 Words

Should the legal drinking age in the US be changed from 21 to a higher or lower age? Why or why not? (If you would change it, what would the new age be?)

In every aspect of American life there is a required age which lets citizen do a certain thing that they would want to do. If a person wants to drive, they have to be 17 (NJ), if someone would like to live on their own you have to be a certain age, if they would want to vote, the person has to be 18, even to play the more violent video games a person has to be a certain age. However there is one law that is on everyone's mind, and that is the minimum legal drinking age. The American Medical Association (AMA) noticed that since the creation of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA), the standard legal drinking age around the country was 21. The AMA research showed that between 1970 thru 1975, the age had been lowered to 18, 19 or 20 in 29 states. However, soon after the increase of car accidents among teenage drivers increased so dramatically that the states were forced to push it back up to 21 (American Medical Association). There is still a long debate as to whether or not the age should be higher or lower than the 21 it is now for each state. There are countless reasons as to why many people are in favor of lowering the age from 21.
When a person is 18, they are practically thrown into society’s main issues and apply for them as well. First, are that many people believe the MLDA should be lowered because of the fact that a person at 18 can kill for their country but can’t drink an alcohol beverage. Also, young people are capable of making decisions regarding our nation’s leaders and politicians. They feel that if they can make such responsible decisions that they should be allowed to responsibly drink what they want. Basically, they believe that since at 18, and are legally adults; they should be allowed to make adult decisions. They can make a decision to mov...