Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age To 18

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Recommended: Alcohol abuse among adolescents

At 18 years of age in the U.S, one can vote, smoke, serve on a jury, get married, and even die for their country yet they cannot have a glass of wine. Despite the fact that so-called adults have the right to make their own decisions, they are not allowed to consume alcohol until the golden age of 21. This law has caused those who are under the age of 21 to be tempted to break the law every time they want to consume alcohol. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would encourage people to drink responsibly and it would reduce traffic accidents that are caused by people driving under the influence. It is believed that alcohol originated around the Mesopotamian area thousands of years ago. Most historians and scientists believe that alcohol had to have come about after the concept of farming was found. In order to make alcohol, fermentation of fruits needed to occur. Egyptians were known to be drinkers through the texts that they wrote. They had mentioned in some of their writings problems that were caused by drunkenness (“Alcohol In History”). The existence of alcohol also dates back to Roman gods. Dionysus was the Roman god of wine. Alcohol is also mentioned many times in the Old Testament and it was a big part of the Jewish practices. The prophet Mohammed banned his followers from the consumption of alcohol (“Alcohol In History”). In the US alcohol has been consumed ever since the days of the pilgrims and some say that they had wine and beer on their ships. Since milk and water were scarce and coffee and tea were expensive, settlers turned to beer and cider as their everyday beverages (“Historical Background of Alcohol in the United States”). During these times though, alcohol was consumed responsibly and there was no room for immod... ... middle of paper ... ...ely 50% have had a drink at least once. Sure teens drink less often than adults but when they do drink they definitely drink more than adults. This practice is known as binge drinking. These harmful and unsafe activities that many teens are engaging in definitely prove the argument that the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 lowers the number of underage drinking wrong. If, as adults, people have the right to serve on juries and make major decisions that can influence a whole nation, then at 18 people should be able to consume alcohol without having to worry about breaking the law. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would encourage people to drink responsibly and it would reduce traffic accidents that are caused by people driving under the influence. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 is proving its ineffectiveness day after day and it is causing people more harm than good.

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