The Debate Over the Legal Drinking Age
College life is filled with changes. It is filled with many new experiences. As college students, we are on our own, adults. As adults we are responsible for keeping up to date on information that affects us. One issue that affects college students nation wide is drinking. The current legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one years of age. The Federal government raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1984. Even with the current drinking age at twenty-one, many people under that age choose to drink anyway. In fact, a government survey from 1996 showed that 56% of high school seniors reported drinking in the last 30 days (Hanson). With so many underage drinkers, many people believe that the drinking age should be lowered, stating that people are going to drink, regardless of the legal age. Still others see the high number of underage drinkers as a sign that the legal age needs to stay where it is and stricter laws need to be implemented. With the extremely high number of underage drinking, we can assume that the current drinking age is relatively ineffective, and therefore we must ask ourselves: should the drinking age be lowered, or should we revise policies to make the current age more effective? It is important to view all sides of the issue before deciding which side to be on. We must look responsibly at the issue instead of saying that the drinking age should be lowered, simply because we are under 21. The current drinking age has many debatable sides, or approaches which need to be examined. Those approaches include lowering the drinking age because the current policies don?t work, lowering the drinking age because it would lead to more responsible drinking, kee...
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...drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research. 1998. Oct 13 2002. <www.indiana.edu/engs/articles/cqoped.html>.
Hanson, D. J. .. Youth Alcohol Policy. 1997. Oct 13, 2002. <http://www.2potsdam.edu/alcohol-info/InMyOpinion/YouthPolicy.html>.
Kirby, Robert. "Study Confirms Parents' Suspicions: Teens Have as Much Sense as a Rock." The Salt Lake Tribune 1 August 2002: E1.
McArdle, Paul J.. "A Lower Drinking Age Wouldn't Lead to Responsible Alcohol Use" Letter. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 893 words, 9 June 2002: A6.
Pickerington, Matthew G.. "A Lower Drinking age Would Quiet the Riots" Letter. The Columbus Dispatch 296 words, 14 May 2002: 10A.
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In the New York times article “Lower the Drinking age to 19” Mr.Steinberg points out the importance of why it might be more beneficial to the United States to lower the current drinking age. He debunked the common belief of underage drinking being linked to highway accidents, he explains instead of raising the drink age maybe we just raise the driving age to 18. He states that “Moreover countries that use 18 for both the drinking and driving age generally have safer highways that the United States.” Laurence Steinberg lower the drinking age New York times. Laurence then talk about the only reason why a higher drinking age would make sense is in the case
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
"Americans Still Oppose Lowering the Drinking Age." Gallup Poll Briefing. (24 July 2014). Web. 19 Feb. 2016. The article provides the views of those who wish to keep the legal drinking age at 21. It states that almost 75% of Americans are still against lowering the drinking age. They believe that the higher age has reduced drinking and driving accidents. Also stated is the belief that since it has been in act for thirty years it should be left the same. The articles also provides statistics based on the specific classes of Americans who are for or against the issue. The purpose of the article is to show readers the benefits of keeping the drinking age as is. It was published on a website that is used to report new and political issues, therefore, allowing it to draw the attention of many people. It is unique in the fact that it provides surveys and information about the specific kinds of people that were surveyed. This article helps me with my thesis because it provides me with the views of people who do not agree with it, therefore, allowing me to show both sides of the
In the contents of this paper, four points of view will be discussed on an extremely controversial issue that has an effect on a large percentage of citizens in the United States. The issue at hand is whether the legal age to consume alcohol should be lowered from 21 to 18, and will state a pro and con side, as well as 2 stakeholders for each side of the argument. The stakeholders on the pro side are as follows: Underage consumers of alcohol, businesses that sell and the companies that produce alcohol. The people on the con side of the argument that would want the legal age to remain at 21 include State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as the demographic of Parents that would prefer to keep their children from being exposed to alcohol at a potentially young age. As you continue to read the stakeholders opinions and arguments will be explained, after which the author’s personal opinion will be advanced. After doing my own in depth research on the topic, the legal age to consume alcohol should remain at 21 as set by the United States Congress when they passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA) in July of 1984. This act punished every state that allowed persons below 21 years of age to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by ten percent. (National Minimum Drinking Age Act) This caused all fifty continental U.S. states to set their legal drinking age to 21, and it has remained there for thirty years.
For decades, certain people have been contemplating on how to go about the issue of underage drinking; people of the government, parents, and other individuals concerned in global affairs. The problem is, the issue of underage drinking and the nationwide ineffectiveness of the drinking age law of twenty-one isn't debated and discussed as much and as aggressively as it should be. And the main components of discussion ought to be the matter of binge drinking among teenagers and college students, drinking issues and statistics in foreign countries, and finally, possible solutions for this problem. The main point is that the states of our country can only attempt to enforce the law rather than try approaching the problem in any other way. So for that reason, states should be allowed to figure out and experiment on possible ways to solve this matter on their own without government interference.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).
The National Minimum Age Drinking Act was signed into law on July 17, 1984. This law was carried out at the federal level and forced all states to raise the minimum drinking to 21 or face cuts in federal-aid cuts in their highway funding. I believe this law must be repelled and that the drinking age should be lowered to 18. We must decriminalize the notion of underage drinking because why must 18 through 20 year olds be treated like children but charged as adults?
Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth. “Seeking a Drinking Age Debate.” University Business 11.10 (2008): 53-4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.
Time to Lower the Drinking Age? U.S. News -. U.S. News & World Report, L.D., 07 May, 2014. Web. The Web.
Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one has shown significant results in the prevention of accidents and death studies across the board. Accordingly, the MLDA should remain at the current age of twenty-one.
Unsupervised, underage drinking has become an epidemic throughout the world, but in the in America more than anywhere else. Even the president’s 19 year old daughter has been arrested for underage drinking. America has the highest legalized drinking age in the world. In fact, only four countries in the world have a legalized drinking age over 18. When we turn 18 in America we are supposed to be adults, but then what is the 21 age mark it is like we get an adult trial version for three years without some freedoms but with all the consequences. For example a twenty-year old, wounded soldier from Iraq can vote, get married, and be tried as an adult, but he can’t even buy a drink! Apparently, we value the condition of his social life more than life itself. Hundreds if not thousands of soldiers have experienced the same scenario. This is nothing new, there is a long history of alcohol ageism.
Despite the problems that would arise, many people are beginning to feel that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Studies have been made; however, no hard evidence suggesting lowering the minimum drinking age would help have surfaced. Although there are countless studies of how alcohol has many harmful effects on teenagers, there is a great deal of negative criticism about what if the drinking age is lowered. Some would say the morally right decision is to not allow teens the chance to hurt themselves. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions and beliefs. However, the overall health of the youth of our country seems a little more important than some personal belief. The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol-related medical issues related to teens will increase.
Barbara Kellerman is a unique theorist – she was one of the first theorists to focus the bulk of her research on something overlooked by other researchers: followers. Kellerman (2005) sees leadership in a way few others do: as a relationship that exists between leaders and followers and the context in which that relationship operates. By that logic followership must be an extension of leadership, rather than a result of it.
This theory shapes followers into future leaders by providing them a freedom to control their behavior, elevates followers’ concerns from physical to psychological needs, and inspires subordinates to consider a group rather than self-interests and communicates designed outcomes to let subordinates perceive changes as wealth while. Transforming leadership has an elevating effect on both sides, leader and the led, because it improves the level of conduct and human interaction.