The drinking age in the United States should be lowered to 18 years of age.

The consumption of alcoholic beverages by people throughout the world can be seen in several different contexts. Consumption can be social, religious, or even medicinal. Throughout the world people partake in the consumption of alcohol in all of these contexts and a large percentage have the drinking age set at least at 18 years of age. I will be advocating that the drinking age be lowered within the United States to 16 years while under the supervision of a parent or guardian and 18 years without supervision. Supporting my argument I offer the following points with their associated logic and reasoning. I. If you are old enough to give the ultimate sacrifice for your country while serving in the military at the age of 18, then you are old enough to consume alcohol at such an age without the supervision of a parent or guardian, or any other person. There have been hundreds of thousands of men and women who have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of fellow citizens, including those that make such legislation to prevent them from drinking at 18, and yet they cannot "legally" partake in consumption of alcohol along with those who do not serve. A man who is 18 can travel halfway around the world to have blazing hot pieces of shrapnel slice his body, yet cannot drink an alcoholic beverage in his home country? The potential sacrifices that servicemen and servicewomen make for their fellow citizens should afford them the right to drink at 18. Many of these service people never are given the thanks and respect that they deserve, yet the law says you cannot drink at 18? Furthermore, many service men and women who may be under aged within the United States can consume alcoholic beverages outside of the country while in service due to the lower age requirements in foreign countries. The current age of 21 years to consume alcoholic beverages simply doesn't add up. When thinking for yourself about what the drinking age should be, how would you feel if you were responsible enough at 18 years of age to wield a fully automatic weapon, potentially have the chance/power to take another life from this world or worse have someone take yours, yet you can't consume an alcoholic beverage "legally" in your own home country. II. The current legal age to consume alcohol is 21. This age requirement has caused countless illegal occurrences of under aged drinking and the detrimental mindset that so many teenagers experience, binge drinking. Because of the current age limitations people under the age of 21 have taken the mindset that drinking, particularly in excessive amounts, is "cool" and "rebellious." These mindsets have led to more teenagers between the ages of 16-20 being involved in dangerous under aged drinking behaviors/situations. It can be observed that as someone reaches the age of 21, in most cases their past drinking habits are altered because drinking no longer has a feeling of being a rebellious, "cool" activity. At 21 alcohol consumption loses its rebellious nature and is simply another activity that people generally partake in. At 21 years of age, people don't have to be "sneaky" or secretive; they can partake in a more responsible manner on a day-to-day basis. While lowering the drinking age to 18 may not completely eliminate illegal drinking, I believe it will significantly reduce the rebellious connotations associated with under aged alcohol consumption and make consumption a more common habit, giving those who are technically classified as adults [according to law], the chance to exhibit their responsibility in handling adult matters, including alcohol consumption. III. Education and leading by example regardless of the set drinking age may be the best resource for encouraging responsible alcoholic consumption. Lowering the drinking age to 18 years of age without supervision of a parent or guardian and 16 while under supervision will allow for parents to educate their children about proper drinking habits and the responsibility associated with alcohol consumption. Currently with the drinking age set at 21 years, some parents may feel insecure about letting their children partake in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. By implementing my suggested ages of 18 and 16, parents should feel more comfortable introducing their children to the both the pleasures of drinking and the consequences at an earlier age. This would allow teenagers to be less likely to binge drink because they have learned by copying their parents' responsible drinking habits. While there are obvious situations in which the parents may exhibit irresponsible drinking habits, I believe that the number of cases would be far less numerable than the successes that would be seen through the proper learned drinking behaviors by teenagers from their parents. IV. My final point, with the first three points aside, is that thousands of people drink under aged and illegally everyday in the United States, and despite the theory that the law should reduce under aged drinking, it seemingly only increases the daily under aged related tickets given by police officers. Teenagers are going to drink under age, thousands do everyday. Thousands of parents let their kids drink while under supervision in family settings allowing them the ability to foster responsible drinking habits. The law requiring people to be 21 years of age exists, but effectively does nothing to stop under aged drinking and only increases police reports, leaves parents restless about instilling responsible drinking habits with their children through first hand experiences and pads the pockets of lawyers who undertake hundreds of under aged consumption or possession cases each year. Lowering the age to 18 wouldn't't necessarily eliminate all cases of under aged drinking infractions, but it would certainly allow for more flexibility for parents/guardians, it would reduce the amount of binge drinking and would allow for police to focus their efforts on actually protecting people from crime instead of being petty babysitters watching over a teenager's shoulder to make sure their red solo cup is actually filled with soda rather than beer. **This debate is for an advocacy and opposition class that I am taking at N.C. State University. I would like to ask that responses actually be intellectual and well rounded so that I may submit this debate for a grade. Thank you and good luck.**