Exordium:
In America you can go to war and take some's life away at the age of 18. You can vote on the next president of the United States for the next four years at the age of 18. At the age of 18 you are technically considered an 'adult'. You can smoke cigarettes, view/buy porn, buy lottery tickets, all at the age of 18. The drinking age used to be 18, but for unclear reasons to me the drinking age has been increased to 21 years of age. People who support this law believe that 18 is too young and that 18 year olds are not 'mature' enough. Or when someone under the age of 21 is in a car accident because they've been drinking that's another thing that leads supporters on and makes them push that the drinking age should be 21. Those moms that lost their child to a drunk driving accident are the main people who push for the drinking age to be 21. It's hard to judge if someone is 'mature' enough; and just because a few dumb people my age have gotten into accidents does not mean that all people under 21 are bound to do the same thing. A drunk driver could be 45 years old and crash and die, and some people take 30 years to mature. You cannot shelter and limit everyone just for a handful of other people's mistakes. Now, I'm not arguing this because I want to drink and because I'm not old enough; I've managed to live 19 years without drinking and I think I can handle one more year. But if today I went to the Army and enlisted I could join, go through basic training, then be sent somewhere else for more training, the kind of training where they teach you how to take someone else's life. So if we're talking about killing people, drunk drivers sometimes kill people, but 18 year olds in the military are purposely trained to kill. A life is a life, it doesn't matter if one was accidental or on purpose, or if one 'deserved' it because they're the 'enemy'. This argument is obscure because for some people who have lost a loved one due to drunk driving I'm sure it is a touchy and rough situation, something I'll never understand. But as it goes for being an 'adult' at the age of 18 and you're allowed all these freedoms like enlisting, buying a lottery ticket, buying cigarettes, we are still restricted from drinking.
Narrative:
The drinking age should be 18, not 21. In an argument the strongest way to present this case would be the delivery. Any Joe Smith could say this, but if this argument came from a soldier who is back from war, after seeing death and possibly having a hand in it, he comes back to the States and he can't even get a beer.
Partition:
The drinking age did you use to be 18, but as of late too many people are scared of their own shadow; they hear a story about a 19 year old drinking and accident in the same sentence and they freak out. If one 19 year old drives drunk, well damn we must all do. Another case that is argued against the drinking age being 18 is that young adults are not 'mature' enough yet. They think that since 18 is only two years after getting your license, that's not enough time to understand all your responsibilities.
Peroration:
There are many freedoms that are available to us when we turn 18, one of the most important of them is being able to vote. We get to decide who the president of the free world is, that's a huge responsibility for an 18 year old. Being able to enlist and being able to vote are two huge responsibilities that are so easily accessible to us as soon as we turn 18, yet we can't enjoy an alcoholic drink every once in a while.
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I completly agree with you. I have written several things concerning this topic (one of which was posted on my blog a few weeks ago). Although I have done some lengthy research concerning the topic and have established a variety of arguments you do bring up a few that I have not formally considered. For example, placing the emphasis on militay and MADD.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of driving pisses me off anyway. The other day, I was on Post, and I saw this guy make a left hand turn from the right hand lane. WTF?!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that's not the point you are making. I agree that there are a lot of freedoms granted to an American Citizen once he/she turns 18. I believe that one of those freedoms should be the ability to purchase and consume alcohol. Alcohol does not kill people or cause accidents. People who do stupid stuff under the influence of alcohol causes accidents and death. I think there is plenty of education on alcohol abuse readily available. There is no excuse for these stupid accidents. Maybe some good 'ol home training is needed instead of an increased age. Maybe if parents would raise their kids with any kind of sense, drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and other dumb accidents woouldn't occur. All through high school, heck even in middle school, I was educated about the risks of consuming too much alcohol including the effects on the body and the accidents that could occur as a result of those effects. A few years ago, a girl that I went to high school with lost her two year old daughter to a drunk driver. The man was grown. He had had is license for longer than I have been alive. He has probably heard to drink responsibly plenty of times. For whatever reason, he decided to get in the car that night. The shitty thing is he lived to see another day and that sweet innocent little girl didn't even get a chance to know this world. There are thousands of stories just like this. WHEN WILL PEOPLE LEARN!? It's not the age that matters. It's the common sense. Where the heck did the common sense go? If you are intoxicated and can't stand up and walk straight, what the hell makes you think you can drive safely? DON'T DO IT! Change the drinking age to 18. I don't think it will make a difference. We need to educate people. We need to have some good home training, common sense, thought for others, and respect. We are all human. We all bleed and we all die. No one is indistructable. We need to start living like we understand this. Don't do stupid shit.
I feel the same way. It is not fair that you can sacrifice for your country and have your country not be able to repay you. The affects of war are ridiculous. If the government expects you to be able to handle the sights of war, you should be able to handle a beer. However, I have heard that the drinking age was moved form 18 to 21 because the liver is not fully developed until 21. Although that may just be a scare tactic.
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ReplyDeleteSamy
ReplyDeletewell the difference in perspectives you have brotten up here is defiantly a hot issue in today's society. The population that pays attention to this issue is not only sophisticated, but plentiful.
One organization that comes to mind is one that is close to my heart. MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), is trying to stop deaths before they start. That is honorable and I commend their efforts.
The antitheses is to your claim is not that they are immature, but because their brains have not fully developed at 19 years old, they are not equipped to handle alcohol. This is backed up and proven by scientists. Simply typing this issue in on "google" will show you what I mean.
There are plenty of wholes in your claim, don't jump to conclusions on this one Samy! Good job making an argument and sticking with it though. Although I have a difference in opinion, I respect your perspective. Like I said, this issue does resonate with a lot of young adults. See you in class!
As much as I hate (or used to hate) the drinking age being 21, I don't think the solution is lowering it to 18. No matter how old you are, there is always someone who can provide the "service" of buying an underage person alcohol. When a teenager decides they want something they can't have, they usually tend to get it. Allowing the majority of high school seniors to legally buy alcohol would be a disaster, at least in this day and age. This is just my opinion. They will get it however they can, but making it readily available doesn't seem wise to me. I think a fair compromise would be making the age 19. It's only a year difference, but sometimes a year can have a huge impact on a person.
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