Drinking Age In The United States

Maybe you like to enjoy a glass of wine at dinner, or have a family member who is an alcoholic or you might even know someone who was involved in a drinking related accident. Whatever it may be, chances are you have seen the effects of alcohol or have been affected yourself in either a positive or a negative way. This leads people to form opinions about alcohol and how it should be regulated in America. One of the central debates surrounding alcohol is what the legal drinking age should be in the United States. In order to debate what should be done about the legal drinking age, it is important to agree upon the facts and definition of the issue first, and how different stakeholders are affected. This is where the real debate begins. The drinking age in the United States had gone back and forth between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. The majority of eighteen year olds still live at home. If they are able to drink, this directly affects their parents who are in charge of them. It is a parent’s job to protect their children and look out for their best interest. Parents share a …show more content…
The share the same values, but disagree over some of the basic facts and definition of the issue. Some parents see the big issue as binge drinking and do not want their kids to get alcohol poisoning or become alcoholics. These are the parents who are going to lean towards a lower drinking age in order to teach responsible drinking habits. Others will argue the big issue is the number of drinking related motor vehicle accidents. Even parents who can agree on the issue are split on the facts, for it is debated if a higher drinking age increases or decreases the number of drinking and driving accidents. Although parents are coming from the same place, it is impossible for them to stand together on the issue if they cannot agree on what the exact issue is and the basic facts surrounding