Old Enough: Civil Liberties In The United States

The law that raised the drinking age happens to be very unstable. To begin with “a portion of the American public today is arguing that if a member of the U.S. military is old enough to die fighting for his or her country, then they ought to be mature enough to enjoy a beer” (“License”). An eighteen year old can die for their country, vote for politicians, and decide what they are doing with their future, but are not allowed to drink alcohol. It stands out that eighteen year olds can also obtain cigarettes that can lead to various types of cancer but cannot enjoy an alcoholic beverage. Continuing on, another reason that raising the drinking age is unjust is that binge drinking continues to occur, which is when one consumes 4 or 5 drinks in a row: “binge drinking is unchanged from its levels of 1979; that among non college women it has increased by 20 percent; and that among college women it has increased by 40 percent” (McCardell). If

While the brain of an 18 year old still has not completely stopped developing, they have multiple other life-altering choices to make. When someone turns 18 they legally turn into an adult. One now has the ability to vote, enlist in the military, purchase tobacco products, and get married without the consent of a parental figure. These choices have potential to greatly impact the lives of the people making these decisions. Whether they select who they wish to run the country, start a life with someone, or put their life at risk these decisions require the thinking and decision-making process of an adult. If one has the ability to act on these choices, they should also have the opportunity to participate in purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages, if they choose to do so.

Many Americans do not feel like adults until their 21st birthday. At age 18 an American has the ability to vote, be drafted or enlist into the military, own a weapon, request a loan, get married, buy cigarettes and many more liberties and consequences that come when a teenager becomes an adult. Nonetheless, in the United States and adult does not have the ability to legally drink until the age of 21. I find the regulation of alcohol necessary and as a protection for the citizens because, as the article “Effects of Alcohol Use” states, the abuse of alcohol contributes to liver damage, leads into driving under the influence, domestic violence and in the long term it can cause cancer and death of brain cells. However, I believe that the alcohol regulation is bias and should be at the same level of liberty as voting, joining the military, owning a weapon, buying cigarettes, requesting a loan and getting married.

Eighteen is the age in which many teens become legal adults which gives them the right to get a tattoo, vote, join the military and the independence of making your own decisions. Twenty-one is the age which allows young adults to legally drink alcohol and smoke marijuana medicinally and recreationally, in 28 states. However “the presidents of 135 universities are campaigning to consider lowering the drinking age from 21”(Greenblatt) which, can cause problems between the federal laws and would seem unfair to students attending different colleges or high school graduates not attending college. The article notes “that binge drinking on campus is rampant despite stricture.”(Greenblatt) The CDC Fact Sheet of Underage Drinking also states how “people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States” and “90% of the alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks.”(CDC) So would lowering the drinking age really do much of a difference to ending binge drinking in young adults or would it increase the problem? Finally, at twenty-five, adults are allowed to rent cars from a rental establishment. Recently, however, some car rental companies rent to underaged drivers. For example, Hertz car rental now rents to drivers at the age of 20. We are given different ages to reach rights because “states are finding ways to recognize this by introducing youngsters to increasing levels of responsibility, rather than foisting it upon them all at once.”(Greenblatt) By mentioning this he is elaborating how laws give multiple ages in order to introduce responsibility in small portions rather than forcing it ,too quickly, onto young

Well, you are telling me that I can legally kill someone at the age of eighteen, while I sign up with the military and go to war but I can’t have a sip of alcohol. Due to this none senseless situation, age should be equaled. In other words, if voting and military sign up is eighteen, then drinking should also be eighteen. Besides at the age of eighteen you are legally an adult. Why can’t we drink then? Drinking age in Australia is eighteen, and in UK is as low as sixteen in restaurants. Studies have showed that those teens/adults are perfectly fine. In fact, Dr. Ruth Engs; professor of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana University in Bloomington, uses this examples to propose the following: “……the drinking age be lowered to about 18 or 19 and permit those of legal age to consume in socially controlled environment such as restaurants and official school and university functions” (direct quote from Dr. Engs).

This is a proven fact. According to LiveScience.com, “"The brain of an 18-year-old college freshman is still far from resembling the brain of someone in their mid-twenties," said Craig Bennett” (Than). Eighteen year olds do not know how to control themselves when it comes to alcohol. They drink very irresponsibly, never knowing when to stop. At twenty-one most people have gone through it enough, that they know their limits and when to stop. Teenagers are not mature enough to make good decisions about alcohol. When one is at the age of eighteen, the brain is still developing and growing. When at the age of twenty-one the brain is pretty much done developing. Most eighteen year olds are either in high school about to graduate or already out. The majority of eighteen year olds go to college and since it is their first year, they usually go to a lot of parties and try to enjoy themselves. At twenty-one, the majority of people are in college and trying to get an education to make a career out of it. They usually have already done the whole party scene and are settling down and getting serious. Some eighteen year olds are still in high school, this would make it easier for younger high school kids to access alcohol. This would be dangerous not only for the kids but the eighteen year olds as well. This could get them in a lot of trouble with the law. This proves that twenty-one year olds are more mature than eighteen year

In the article Save Us from Youth, by Bradley R. Gitz, Gitz points out that many things in the Amethyst Initiative discussing the legal drinking age is inconsistent for an adult between the ages 18 and 21. At the age of 18 you are given many rights and is considered an adult, you are given the rights to buy cigarettes, the rights to vote, the rights to enlist in the army. an be tried as an adult in court. Buying or consuming alcohol is not one of the rights given. “Ultimately, the most important issue at stake with respect to the drinking age is not whether 18-year-olds are responsible enough to consume alcohol, or even the consequences of such consumption in legal vs. illegal circumstances, but whether those who are old enough to be sued in a court of law, carry a gun into combat on behalf of fellow citizens and participate in our democratic process by

Once a person reaches the age of 18, they are allowed to tattoo their bodies, smoke tobacco, gamble and even enlist if they wanted to! As an adult, they want to be treated as one but how can they feel like an adult if hanging around with their friends and drinking beer while watching TV is illegal? Of course, that does not stop them, though. The United States is one of the few countries in which still have such a high minimum drinking age. Although most people think young adults (18-year olds) are irresponsible, the minimum drinking age should be lowered to 18 because they deserve to be recognized as adults in order to avoid illegal, uncontrolled drinking and other illegal actions.

Society proposes at the age of eighteen an individual is mature and responsible to make decisions without the consent of a parent or guardian. In the United States an eighteen-year-old is considered a legal adult. By law you are able to fight for your country, vote, and buy cigarettes. Some impose, giving a newly young adult the privilege to consume alcohol would enhance their responsibility as an adult. Mary Cary from

In the United States, 18-year-olds are considered adults. They can vote, get married and get a license for a gun yet they are not allowed to drink. Many people think that the drinking age should be 18, but others strongly believe it should be 21 for doing all kinds of things. Drinking in the United States has become a controversy for the drinking age; 18 or 21. There are many reasons why the drinking age should stay the same and many of why it should be 18. Even though many Americans think that people under 21 do not have the capacity to handle drinking, in my opinion, drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 because teenagers at the age of 18 can make important decisions, so drinking should be a decision they can too decide whether to

First, I will discuss why 18 year olds should be entitled to the right to consume alcohol when they hit adulthood, rather than waiting until the age of 21. When you turn 18 years old you’re allowed to vote in elections, get married, smoke, get tried in a court of law as an adult, gamble, get life insurance, and fight in the armed forces

The legal drinking age is the age at which a person can consume or purchase alcohol. These laws cover a wide range of issues and behaviors, addressing when and where alcohol can be consumed. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed by Congress 30 years ago. This law told states that they had to enforce the drinking age of 21 or lose up to ten percent of their federal highway funding. The idea that a person was fully an adult at age 21 relates to an English common law. 21 was the age where a person could vote and become a knight. If a person was 21, they could drink then, too. Franklin Roosevelt approved lowering the minimum age for the military draft from 21 to 18 during World War II. Organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) began pushing for the national drinking age to be set at 21. They thought it would keep alcohol out of the hands of 18-year-olds who they felt were less mature. As a result, President Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 to set the age at 21. Legislation concerning the legal minimum drinking age in the United States can be

If one is charged with a crime then the eighteen year old is no longer tried in juvenile court; he is tried as an adult. In reality, an eighteen, nineteen, and twenty year old can do just about everything that a twenty-one year old can do, except legally consume alcohol. Who is to say that en eighteen, nineteen, or twenty-year old is not mature enough to properly consume alcohol? Previous research suggests that when there is a more strenuous alcohol policy there will be lower alcohol abuse and consumption among teens (Grube, Kypri, and Paschall 1850). This actually causes teens to feel the need to rebel instead of the thought of teens abusing the privilege. This is a rather immature personality trait to have as a teenager, but there might actually be a reduction in drinking because teens are no longer being rebellious and breaking the law. The whole point of “becoming an adult” is to give them the ability to take responsibility for their own actions, so why should we not let them?

Many negative effects come with drinking alcohol. Since teenagers’ brains are not fully developed until they are in their mid 20’s, it is especially dangerous to them. The legal alcohol age should not be eighteen because it harms the teenage brain and body, it has negative (and potentially fatal) effects on school, and it has negative effects on driving.

Reviewing these statists one may be able to analaze and see that even drivers between 21 to 24 were high at risk. What would make a person want to lower the drinking age to 18. Young adults at eighteen are new drivers and less expierenced then the 21 + drivers and logically would produce more fatal crashes.