At 15, you can begin to find work with a wider variety of businesses. At 16, we allow young adults to join us on the roads. At 17, we allow them to fly thousands of feet in the air by themselves. At 18, the United States of America signes your imaginary adult permission slip. You are now able to: vote, smoke cigarettes, buy lottery tickets, join the armed services, check into a hotel by yourself, make your own doctor's appointments, and so much more. But in all 50 states you cannot be caught with a single drop of alcohol in your system while you are under the age of 21 without serious punishment. Why is this and what is the logic behind it? The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 set in place to enact a minimum drinking age to 21.
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What made this age special? Well in 1984, the concept behind this was that “you become a full adult at age 21 and this dates back centuries in English common law; 21 was the age at which a person could, among other things, vote and become a knight.” So they made this the age to purchase alcohol. But in other countries, such as Germany, this is not the case. In Denmark the age to purchase alcohol is 16, but the legal drinking age is zero! The young adults here are trusted enough to drink in a controlled environment under parental consent. There reasoning was this, if the age was not lowered that many 16-18 year olds that grocery shop for their families wouldn't be age to buy a six pack of beer for their dad or a bottle of wine for their mom's dinner party. The stipulations to Denmark's laws are that these young adults are not allowed to buy hard liquor in bars, only beer and wine in shops. Germany seems to be doing something right when comparing statistics they have about 44 alcohol related traffic deaths per one million, compared to the USA’s 104 deaths per one million. Germany claims that this is due to vigorous driving training, but I disagree. Young adults are able to control themselves better on the road when they understand what drinking does to them before they learn how to drive. So why not do the same thing in America and see if we have the same …show more content…
I believe that if you are allowed to serve the country, be legally married to a opposite or same sex person, or be a productive member of the country at 18 then why not be able to have a beer or glass of wine at the end of the day to relax and wind down. I think in turn that lowering the drinking age will lower alcohol related deaths and accidents will decrease because young adults will understand from a younger age alcohol and ways to use it
What made this age special? Well in 1984, the concept behind this was that “you become a full adult at age 21 and this dates back centuries in English common law; 21 was the age at which a person could, among other things, vote and become a knight.” So they made this the age to purchase alcohol. But in other countries, such as Germany, this is not the case. In Denmark the age to purchase alcohol is 16, but the legal drinking age is zero! The young adults here are trusted enough to drink in a controlled environment under parental consent. There reasoning was this, if the age was not lowered that many 16-18 year olds that grocery shop for their families wouldn't be age to buy a six pack of beer for their dad or a bottle of wine for their mom's dinner party. The stipulations to Denmark's laws are that these young adults are not allowed to buy hard liquor in bars, only beer and wine in shops. Germany seems to be doing something right when comparing statistics they have about 44 alcohol related traffic deaths per one million, compared to the USA’s 104 deaths per one million. Germany claims that this is due to vigorous driving training, but I disagree. Young adults are able to control themselves better on the road when they understand what drinking does to them before they learn how to drive. So why not do the same thing in America and see if we have the same …show more content…
I believe that if you are allowed to serve the country, be legally married to a opposite or same sex person, or be a productive member of the country at 18 then why not be able to have a beer or glass of wine at the end of the day to relax and wind down. I think in turn that lowering the drinking age will lower alcohol related deaths and accidents will decrease because young adults will understand from a younger age alcohol and ways to use it