Should the Drinking Age Be Low essays

Should the Drinking Age Be Low essays During the last thirty years, the American government has done there best to keep teenagers under strict drinking laws. This is due to the fact that teenagers have an irresponsible reputation when it comes to substance abuse. The drinking age was raised from eighteen to twenty-one within the last two decades, and although I do not agree with the change, I can see how much controversy is involved. At the age of eighteen you are given many privileges and responsibilities of an adult, but are not allowed to drink legally for three more years. To me, that does not seem fair, but the arguments made against lowering the drinking age are viable. At the age of 18, American men are required to enroll in the army, and fight for their country during times of war. This implies that they are mature enough to handle facing death, which is something that most adults are not prepared for, even in their old age. One of the main arguments for raising the drinking age was that teenagers were not drinking reasonably. I believe that if you are mature and responsible enough to fight in a gruesome war, then that should enable them to drink. However, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration did a survey on Drug Abuse, [which] shows disappointing results in the fight against youth alcohol use, reporting an estimated 9.7 million youth (27.5 percent) aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the survey. Of these, 6.6 million (18.7 percent) were binge drinkers and 2.1 million (6 percent) were heavy drinkers (Webb 1). This contradicts my theory that young Americans can drink responsibly, and is a g ood argument against the possibility of lowering the drinking age back to eighteen. People are able to vote at the age of 18, enabling them to participate in making decisions about who will run the country. This privilege is usually the thing that separates teenager ...