why the drinking age should be 21

It kind of undermined your whole statement. Cons to Lowering the Drinking Age: It would increase reckless driving behavior: Eighteen-year-olds are already inexperienced drivers - with the decreased inhibitions and poor judgment associated with just a few drinks, the roads could become even more dangerous. And like prohibition, it is a proven failure. (If there is anything left to run.) He is the author of Gun Control and the Second Amendment, The War on Drugs Is a War on Freedom, and War, Empire and the Military: Essays on the Follies of War and U.S. Foreign Policy. Revising the drinking age back to 21 has declined the rate of drunk driving accidents so much that it is estimated an average of 800 lives have been saved every year. 80% of college students, 18 or 21, drink alcohol. Ultimately, the best solution will depend on a range of factors, including cultural attitudes towards alcohol, enforcement of existing laws, and support for those struggling with addiction. this kind of impedes the whole freedom aspect of our country, also im sure major alcohol companies like anhueser busch wouldnt be too happy to hear that a large portion of their big customers (fuck ups) just got taken away, and they probably have more say than you do. But why stop there? Any move toward increasing alcohol availability to young adults must consider its adverse effects, including traffic fatalities, unplanned pregnancy and crime. Studies have shown that raising the drinking age to 21 can lower rates of alcohol-related car crashes, injuries, and deaths among young people. In 2007, McCardell founded Choose Responsibility (CR), a nonprofit group devoted to spreading awareness of the dangers of excessive and reckless alcohol consumption by young adults. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected. Further, I agree that kids in college have way too much free time, are doing so much unsupervised experimentation and yet, they are still on their parents purse strings. All of the worlds and this countrys problems come from the generation in charge right now. That is the impression I get when they say there was a study showing this definite decrease. They argue that young people will still find ways to obtain alcohol, and that enforcement of the law will be difficult. This act shall take effect immediately upon ratification. It really seems arbitrary and unfair when were the ones who get pulled over when everyone else is speeding. Laurence M. Vance is a columnist and policy advisor for the Future of Freedom Foundation, an associated scholar of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and a columnist, blogger, and book reviewer at LewRockwell.com. ReadMore, Gabrielle Glaser, author, "Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink", Tamika C. B. Zapolski, assistant professor of psychology, Laurence Steinberg, adolescent brain researcher, S. Georgia Nugent, former college president, Christopher S. Carpenter, economics professor. Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. Why Is The Legal Drinking Age 21? - Alcohol Rehab Guide Age 21 was a broad-brush social policy used to fight the specific problem of drunk driving. Our decision makers at the time of this alcohol crises believed only adults should be entitled to drink since it came with such responsibility, therefore allowing adults 21 years of age and older to drink legally. I also think it would be interesting to see Seaman take down Dejongs statements instead of the other way around. It is not the proper role of the federal government to give states highway funds. Also, 18, 19, and 20 year olds make up only 7 percent of licensed drivers but account for 16 percent of the drivers in alcohol-related crashes. Goodbye. Seaman: I sent three daughters through college in the 1990s. Pros and Cons of Raising the Drinking Age to 21 in Australia, Pros And Cons Of Growing Potatoes In Tires, Pros and Cons of Being a Stay-at-Home Mom, Pros and Cons of Airbrushing in Magazines, Pros and Cons of Engineered Hardwood Flooring, Pros And Cons Of Living In The Florida Keys, Cheers to 21: The Benefits of Raising the Drinking Age, Bottoms Up or Down: The Drawbacks of Raising the Drinking Age, 3. My response is that if you take 18 as a clear, bright line that separates adults from nonadults, which the law does in every other respect, I think you could enforce it more credibly and have more buy-in from the people themselves. Prohibition banned the production and sale of alcohol; however, it did not ban the consumption of alcohol. My son is about to turn 18 and I honestly dont think its a good idea for him to consume alcohol at this stage in his life. America is known as a nation that is obsessed with drinking. A lower drinking age would likely cause this period of alcohol-related criminal activity to start earlier and last longer. Maybe they didnt binge drink in high school, but almost all of them drank. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Excessive drinking contributes to more than 3,900 deaths among people below the age of 21 in the U.S. each year. It has succeeded in that -- but tougher seatbelt and D.U.I. Like Prohibition -- and abstinence-only sex education -- its been a dismal failure. Return the Drinking Age to 18, and Enforce It - NYTimes.com Raising the drinking age could also be seen as an infringement on personal rights. This means that an overwhelming majority of people under 21 . New Music July 2023: Local Boston Concerts, New Album Releases, Supreme Court Strikes Down Bidens Student-Loan Debt Forgiveness Plan, This Student-Created CDS Workshop Examines Equality in the Technology Industry, Disappointed and Determined, BU Community Reacts to SCOTUS Affirmative Action Ruling, Supreme Court Guts Affirmative Action in College Admissions, Provides Scant Guidance for Universities, Navigating College Life: Reflections and Insights from an Upperclassman, Things to do in Boston This Fourth of July Holiday. History. My generation rocks. Dejong claims that parents who let children drink at home will lead to excessive drinking at college . Indiana University, The Progressive Era's Health Reform Movement: A Historical Dictionary (2003), Alcohol and Other Drugs: Self Responsibility, Controversies in the Addiction Field Sample, Calculations and Scoring Criteria for the SAQ, Student Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire, Calculations for Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire, Reliability Article for Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire, Australian and UK Expanded Version of SAQ, Reliability Article for Health Concern Questionnaire, Eugenics, Immigration Restriction and the Birth Control Movements, Drinking Patterns and Problems of a National Sample of College Students, Calculations and Scoring for the Australian and UK SAQ, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17133/browse?type=title, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/17130/browse?type=title. The students who went off the deep end with alcohol and other things were either the ones whose parents clamped down on them when they were younger and never let them make their own decisions and mistakes, so those students made them all freshman year, or else the ones whose parents never knew or cared what their kids were up to when in high school. My parents know better and they taught me better by letting me drink with them. Honestly, screw you. Britain leads way as teenage . BU Today spoke with Seaman, the current president of Choose Responsibility, and William DeJong, a School of Public Health professor of community health sciences and an expert on alcohol education, who has debated members of Choose Responsibility in the past, to discuss the pros and cons of lowering the legal drinking age in America. These are just thoughts off the top of my head, but the basic idea is that just like driving is a privilege that can be taken away, alcohol consumption should be privilege and not a right. Retaining 21 as the Minimum Legal Drinking Age With a higher drinking age, young people may feel that they are being treated as children and may have trouble taking on adult responsibilities. Does that not matter to you? New Zealand recently switched from age 20 to 18. So in other words, you highschoolers and college boys and girls are constantly doing something illegal? Ive also heard of stories where parents in Illinois will rent houses in Wisconsin for their teens to go to after prom. The Turkish president signed the legislation into law on June 10. Its a minority that are absolutely certain that the law should be changed. Territories Financial Support Center (TFSC), Tribal Financial Management Center (TFMC), US Dept of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. By Im convinced by the evidence, even though the Age 21 law has been imperfectly enforced and even though a lot of people violate it, that it has had a dampening effect and has reduced negative alcohol-related problems. Why is the drinking age 21? Why can't people drink at 18 when they Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Lower the drinking age, or keep it the same, Im getting drunk regardless. But research has shown that a drinking age of 21 does reduce alcohol use by those under 21, including high school students. 18th and 21st Amendments. 2. If they think the age of adulthood should change, that could make sense. Most other countries have a minimum drinking age of 18 and they rarely enforce it vigorously. In reality, Prohibition caused many restaurants to close and lowered theatre ticket sales due to the lack of alcohol proceeds many places relied on to survive. And it is notable, of course, that an 18-year-old is considered an adult in almost every context -- including in the voting booth -- except when ordering a beer. Dont bust kids for walking around campus with an open container of beer, certainly not students who are sitting in their room, watching a football game on television with a six-pack in front of them. However, when these activities include alcohol, it can be a dangerous mix. Teens are learning how to cope with stress, deal with anger, manage their emotions, find ways to have fun, etc. Groups such as Italians, Greeks, Chinese and Jews, who have few drinking related problems, tend to share some common characteristics. Getting Help: Information about alcohol abuse treatment and support at Student Health Services can be found here. As a 19 year old college student myself, I think the main issue is that the entire legal system in the US is extremely stupid with no attention paid to common sense, unbelievable stubbornness when it comes to changing our laws, and no attempt whatsoever to keep in touch with the times. Why Is the Drinking Age 21? - The Future of Freedom Foundation

Save Student Loan Calculator, What Is Top Drawer Soccer, Articles W