the drinking age should not be lowered to 18

Rights and Responsibilities The legal age of adulthood in the United States is 18. That is when citizens can vote, serve on a jury, buy cigarettes, be tried as adults, and enlist in the military as Pro pointed out. Is Pro suggesting that 18 is too young for any and all of these things?Intelligence and the capacity of self restraint are not determined by age. However it's reasonable to assume that if a citizen is considered eligible to make profound life and legal decisions in some areas, then they should be afforded the same rights and responsibilities across the board. Either we consider 18 year olds mature enough to be tried as their adult peers, and as such hold them accountable for their actions, or we universally apply a distinction between those who are 18 and those who are older and acknowledge a disparity in presumed maturity. In other words, the government (society) ought to be more consistent in terms of applying accountability and legal eligibility. The government should also consider the fact that drinking alcohol does not automatically violate the rights of anyone, and it's immoral to punish someone for simply consuming a beverage unless they specifically cause harm or danger to others. It's also worth noting that 45 of the 50 states allow for under age drinking with certain restrictions, such as being permissible with parental consent, allowing for the consumption of alcohol for religious purposes, or drinking on private premises as some examples. This once again presents an inconsistent moral and legal standard which proves the current drinking age is based on flimsy logic. SafetyAllowing people under 21 to drink alcohol openly would decrease unsafe drinking activities. Prohibiting them from drinking openly in bars, resturants, and other public places forces them to drink in unsupervised locations where they may be prone to engage in more risky behavior (such as binge drinking). Instead of alcohol consumption being a regular part of daily life, it becomes this overly glorified taboo that puts drunkenness on a socially desireable pedestal. In Europe, young people aren't as excited (and risky) about drinking because it's not as exclusive to them. Traffic accidents and fatalities are most common among newly legal drinkers [1]. Any increase in traffic accidents or fatalities in 18- to 20-year-olds would be offset by a decrease for those 21 and older [2]. Moreover, there are fewer drunk driving accidents and fatalities in many countries with a drinking age of 18 vs. 21 like the United States. In fact, drunk driving accidents have been on the decline, and research shows that it does not correlate to the legal drinking age at all. I would invite Pro to provide specific data that proves a 21 year old drinking age inhibits crimes like suicide, homicide or vandalism. On the contrary, 72% of studies found no statistically significant relationship between the two despite claims that lowering the drinking age to 18 would increase suicide and other criminal activities by adolescents [3]. Legal RepercussionsUnderage drinking accounts for almost 1/5 of consumer spending on alcohol in the US [4]. In 2006, 72.2% of twelfth graders reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lives [5]. In other words, young people are drinking anyway despite criminalization. Not only is this good for the economy, but it's worth noting that a higher drinking age does not successfully deter young people from alcohol anyway. In addition to promoting risky drinking habits, this makes young drinkers officially criminals which can have devastating effects on their livelihood should they be caught consuming alcohol. Being reprimanded in school, having legal privileges taken away, establishing a criminal record, and enduring a ton of money in fines, fees and other court costs are all detrimental legal aspects of a higher drinking age. Often times young people do not seek medical attention or other assistance in fear that they will be punished for drinking while under age. Furthermore young people are incentivized to create and purchase fake IDs, and go through other illegal avenues (like bribery) to get their hands on alcohol. Since drinking is not inherently dangerous or immoral, why create an unnecessary class of criminals who can and often are penalized for not causing any overt harm? References[1] Thomas S. Dee and William N. Evans, "Behavioral Policies and Teen Traffic Safety," American Economic Review, May 2001[2] "Alcohol Impaired Driving," National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, www.nhtsa.gov, 2009[3] Alexander C. Wagenaar and Traci L. Toomey, "Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000,"Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2002[4] Joseph Califano Jr., "The Commercial Value of Underage and Pathological Drinking to the Alcohol Industry,"National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, May 2006[5] Charlie Covey, "Drinking Age Requires Necessary and Proper Action," www.youthfacts.org, Nov. 11, 2007