How To Write An Essay About Lowering The Drinking Age

Drunk driving seems to be a black spot of our civilization. An average of 17,000 individuals die each year in drunk driving related accidents, and drunk driving continues to be an enormously important public safety issue (MADD). With lowering this drinking age we can only expect more cases of drunk driving and more lives are put in danger. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that about 900 lives are saved annually due to fewer alcohol-related traffic crashes involving underage drivers. Surely, it should be a priority for the society to minimize the death toll from drunk driving.

The controversial question in many Americans’ minds is as follows, “So we are allowed to fight and die for our country, but we have to wait three years to legally drink a beer?” (Fulton). In schools alcohol is taught to be a bad, foreign, and a taboo subject; this is because many Americans abuse alcohol. They are not responsible or respectful when consuming liquor. With this in mind a group of concerned mothers joined together to protest against alcohol.

People might think that this creates a new place for them to just get drunk and be reckless, but it actually gives them a safe place to drink responsibly so they are kept off the streets where they could be seriously harmed. In addition to the increase in customers at local restaurants and such, the government will begin to see an increase in tax. In America all types of alcoholic beverages have an overwhelming amount of tax on them. Beverages such as distilled spirits, wine, and beer are three of the most common types of alcoholic beverages. For a gallon of distilled spirits the tax placed on them is $13.50, for a gallon of beer the tax rate is $6.18, and for a gallon of wine the tax is $4.86 (“Economic Contributions of the Distilled Spirits Industry.”)

Alcohol damages your liver, your liver helps clean your blood. Alcohol also destroys your brain cells or stop your brain from developing. Don’t you want to learn so you can prepare for the career you want to go into? Alcohol can also make you become violent and it is also illegal. In the article “http://www.ceasar-boston.org/teens/tenreasons.php” the author stated, “Kids who start drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcoholism than someone who waits until they are 21 before they start.”

Robert Voas states teen pregnancy, sexual assaults, and crime rates have increased due to underage drinking. Alcohol consumption at a college age leads to 600,000 physical assaults and 70,000 sexual assaults yearly according to a study (464). Joyce Alcantara claims if the age were lowered back to eighteen then it would put younger teens at risk (468). People tend to have friends around their same age. So, if eighteen year olds were allowed to drink then their friends which are roughly around the age of sixteen or seventeen would likely have an alcoholic drink in their hand as well.

But while it has succeeded in that, it is also believed that tougher rules, such as DUI rules and seatbelt safety rules have also played a part in this decrease. However, this higher drinking age hasn’t reduced drinking, its only “driven it underground,” Gabrielle Glaser states in her NY Times article. It has been driven underground to the riskiest settings, high school parties and frat parties that are unsupervised. This age raise segregates the drinking away from adults that can model moderation in drinking. If an 18-year-old high school senior is shown by his/her parent(s) how to drink responsibly and in moderation, I believe that it would greatly help in reducing the chance of making bad decisions by overdoing it, such as driving while drinking.

Drunk driving is a serious problem that continues to take thousands of deaths each year. Too many innocent lives been lost to drunk driving. A death from drunk driving does not only affect the victim but it affects everyone around them such as family and friends. One night, one drink, one mistake is all it takes for drunk driving to take its toll. There are many solutions to prevent drunk driving, but they will only work if we put them into play.

Did you know that there are close to 18 million people that are diagnosed with alcoholism in the United States? Alcoholism is a disease that causes heavy and uncontrolled drinking. It can cause destruction to multiple organs. There should be more limitations on alcohol that apply to everyone in America. More restrictions on alcohol could prevent car crashes from happening more often and save lives.

Based off of this alone, it is evident that there are pros and cons as to if the age should be younger or kept at 21. There are many people throughout the country that feel like the age of 21 is too high to be the

However, doing this will not stop felons from procuring and committing gun-related crimes. For example, take a look at the United Kingdom. Once they banned guns, there was a large spike in murders, reaching as high as 1.97 homicides per 100,000 people. The murder rate then began to decline around 2003-2004 as a result of increased police force, but has only reached a number below the pre-ban’s 1.3 homicides per 100,000 people 1 time. This shows that while a ban may limit gun violence, perpetrators will find other ways to commit crimes, such as bombings and driving vehicles through crowds.

Advocates and supporters of lowering the MLDA 21 to 18 allows young adults the right to make decisions about the consumption of alcohol. As the age of 18 entails an individual to legally become a young adult, receiving the “[rights] and responsibilities [required] to vote… and purchase cigarettes…” (Chiappetta), being prosecuted and tried as an adult, serve on juries, getting married, and drafting to the military – in which dangers the lives of themselves and others surrounding them. As lowering the MLDA from 21 to 18 will lessen the excitement to break the law for consuming alcohol finding the balance between moderation and consumption will become less taboo for workforce individuals and incoming university students. While allowing the consumption of alcohol in regulated and licensed environments and establishments as opposed to unsupervised house parties or fraternity houses “decreases the likelihood of danger and [controversial] actions” (McCardell). Advocates and adversaries of lowering the MLDA 21 both establish the safety of individuals who consume alcohol is always top priority.