Introduction Ever since the United States raised its drinking age from 18 to 21, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether this regulation was fair, or even legal. Many people will argue that if a person can get drafted into the military and die for their country, it’s only fair that they should be able to legally drink a beer if they want to. On the other hand, it is well known that young people are still developing both neurologically and socially while still in their late teenage years. Couple this fact with the dangers of mixing alcohol with driving, and one will quickly understand that a lower drinking age will literally cost tens of thousands of American lives. It is the purpose of this paper to argue that it would be better to
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However, the bottom line, and undeniable fact of a raised drinking age is simple; the raised drinking age of 21 simply saves lives. For some people, that fact alone would not be enough. After all, many argue that a little blood has to be shed in the interest of liberty. Moreover, an 18-year-old is an adult, and the government has no right to tell an adult citizen what to do. This argument sounds plausible until one stops to think about all the different types things that have age requirements. Because simply stated, it takes time for people to mature and handle additional responsibilities. For example, buying a handgun requires one to be 21 years of age. Even renting cars and obtaining lowered insurance rates have age limits of 21-25 years of age. Would our nation be well led by an 18-year-old, or is the Constitutionally mandated limit of 35 more reasonable? Although many children do drink or experiment with alcohol during their childhood, because of the lowered drinking rates, U.S. children drink far less than their European counterparts that have an 18-year-old drinking limit (ProCon, 2016). But most compelling, is the number of lives that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that have been saved since the implementation of the 21-year-old drinking limit. After raising the drinking limit, between the years of 1985 through 2008, alcohol related fatal crashes for 18-20 year olds fell by some 13% (NHTSA, 2008). This correlates to a savings of approximately 27,052 lives of young people in the United States (NHTSA, 2008). To put this figure into perspective, this is roughly 4 times the number of U.S. combat deaths during the 10-year Global War on
However, the bottom line, and undeniable fact of a raised drinking age is simple; the raised drinking age of 21 simply saves lives. For some people, that fact alone would not be enough. After all, many argue that a little blood has to be shed in the interest of liberty. Moreover, an 18-year-old is an adult, and the government has no right to tell an adult citizen what to do. This argument sounds plausible until one stops to think about all the different types things that have age requirements. Because simply stated, it takes time for people to mature and handle additional responsibilities. For example, buying a handgun requires one to be 21 years of age. Even renting cars and obtaining lowered insurance rates have age limits of 21-25 years of age. Would our nation be well led by an 18-year-old, or is the Constitutionally mandated limit of 35 more reasonable? Although many children do drink or experiment with alcohol during their childhood, because of the lowered drinking rates, U.S. children drink far less than their European counterparts that have an 18-year-old drinking limit (ProCon, 2016). But most compelling, is the number of lives that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that have been saved since the implementation of the 21-year-old drinking limit. After raising the drinking limit, between the years of 1985 through 2008, alcohol related fatal crashes for 18-20 year olds fell by some 13% (NHTSA, 2008). This correlates to a savings of approximately 27,052 lives of young people in the United States (NHTSA, 2008). To put this figure into perspective, this is roughly 4 times the number of U.S. combat deaths during the 10-year Global War on