Minimum Legal Drinking Age Should Be 18 Essay

Are you really an adult when you turn 18? Can you really make your own decisions or are you still being held back? One example of how 18 year olds are not being treated as true adults because they do not have the right to drink. In America, the minimum legal drinking age is 21 which has caused lots of argument about this topic. Because they can put their life on the line for this country, yet they are not able to make their own decisions on drinking alcohol. Despite the minimum legal drinking age being 21, it should be 18 because that is the age when a person truly becomes an adult. Turning 18 makes a person become an adult and if someone is considered an adult he or she should be able to decide whether he or she wants to consume alcohol or not. Turning 18 allows people to receive many abilities that they did not have before they were an adult. When someone turns 18 they receive many abilities of adulthood including voting, being a legal adult in court, and much more, but not letting someone drink when they …show more content…
One example is that, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that MLDA 21 decreased the number of fatal traffic accidents for 18- to 20-year-olds by 13% and saved approximately 27,052 lives from 1975-2008 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Raising the drinking age to 21 may have had some minor successes--like getting fewer young people to drink--but has resulted in dangerous behaviors (Abba). Drinking at a lower age is unsafe and people are more responsible at 21. Despite some of the arguments showing that it could benefit having an older drinking age, you should be able to choose whether you want to drink or not when you are an adult. If you are an adult you should be able to make your own decisions and not being able to drink alcohol is holding someone back from becoming a true