The United States Should Lower the Drinking Age to 18

Rebuttal: 1) The brain is not fully developed until age 21. I don’t argue that statement, yet we legally hold them responsible, up to the right to take their life from them, at eighteen years of age. We have given them accountability without freedoms. It is unethical and clearly pushed by the majorities self-interest. 2) The environment that alcohol would put minors in is dangerous. I wouldn’t argue that bars and clubs are the best places for young people to hang out, but the alternative for those bent on drinking is worse. House & dorm parties typically include no-holds-barred binge drinking. Keg stands and beer pong just aren’t typically present at public venues. Rape and violence are present at house parties as well…at least at a club there are people liable for things if they happen. In fact, the Amethyst Initiative, a group of chancellors and presidents of universities and colleges across the United States that have signed their names to reducing the drinking age to 18 for this exact reason [1]. A non-profit associated with the Amethyst Initiative, called Choose Responsibility, conducted research at McGill University in Montreal Canada. McGill is unique in that it resides in Canada (drinking age 18) but has a large body of American students because of its proximity to the US. They also have a very low instance of binge drinking. The conclusion was that students responded well to the open culture, “students and faculty and other adults intermingled around alcohol, whereas in American universities and colleges, there was a total separation of adults from young people. I think the lack of somebody around to demonstrate moderate drinking, to just having a professor or parent or somebody around who could say, “I think three beers is enough. You’re beginning to act like a jerk.” That sort of moderating behavior is totally absent. So here’s a whole generation of young people learning to drink from themselves, instead of from people who’ve had some experience with it. ”[2] 3) Lowering the drinking age to 18 would only breed even more, and younger, underage drinkers. There really isn’t data to prove this, it is a hypothetical. If lowering the age greatly increased high school drinking, don’t you think it would be a hot issue is EVERY other developed country? 4) Historically, when the drinking age was lower, underage drunk drivers were involved in almost twice as many accidents. I’m not going to argue that it doesn’t save lives. If we want our government to make these kinds of decisions…well excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years. The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2010 were estimated at $249 billion![4] This is from the Center of Disease Control. The excuse that it saves lives only works if it applies to everyone. Seems adults have just as many issues with booze. I don’t mean to sound harsh against Mothers Against Drunk Driving, but the cold truth is they are fueled by anger and grief. In fact, its original name was Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. As a leading researcher on drunk driving has observed, ‘MADD is focused on the demand for justice or vengeance on the group that took the lives of friends and children. This warrants harsh punishment, whether or not deterrence is achieved.’[3] I don’t particularly trust their findings. Closing Statement: I’m not condoning our youth drinking…just their rights to decide. To me it is a similar issue to abortion. The people that are pro-choice don’t like the fact that pregnancies are terminated. They get no pleasure from that, it is a tragedy all the way round. They just support the woman’s right to choose. http://www.theamethystinitiative.org... http://www.bu.edu... http://www.alcoholfacts.org... http://www.cdc.gov...