Why it should be changed?
As far as the legal drinking age is concerned, individuals can not drink or smoke until they are 21 years. This means that the law prohibits any engagement in such activities until that acceptable age. As much as the legal drinking age is 21 years, many people have disagreed with it because of various reasons (Lovett 28). Most people believe that the drinking age should be changed because youths are also allowed to vote at the age of 18. On the other hand, males are able to join the selective service at that age which argues well for it to be changed. Most of them are inclined to the jury of duty at the age of 18 which justifies the fact that they are mature enough. In this case, it implies that if they can be given such responsibilities, then they should be allowed to drink. This means it does not augur well to give somebody all these responsibilities and deny him the right to drink.
The official drinking age should be changed because there are schools which have argued that by insisting on 21 years, the government aggravates the situation (Lovett 13). In this case, the law should be changed to 18 years for colleges to regulate the use of alcohol. This implies that the law should be changed for these institutions to monitor the use of alcohol. As a matter of fact, the law needs to be changed because drinking can be regulated and controlled. This means that responsive drinking can still be advocated for through proper educational programs and role models. Although youths are not allowed to drink until the age of 21, many of them have been drinking alcohol in an irresponsible manner. This is a good reason why the law should be changed to accommodate such youths.
Why it should be 18 rather than 21?
The official drinking age should be 18 years rather than 21 because of various reasons. The legal drinking age has always varied by country which means that it is arrived at after various factors have been considered. The law should be 18 and not 21 because people who are 18 are able to vote meaning that they can make up their mind. In this case, it should settle on this age because these are responsible people who can differentiate what is wrong and right. This means that they should be given the right to purchase and drink alcohol rather that making them wait until they reach 21 years. In a broad perspective, it should be changed to 18 from 21 because it is argued that they have a lot of tolerance (Lovett 19).Tolerance comes with a lot of responsibilities and that is why it is not a matter of age in any way. This means that we can not tell what an individual can handle until they try it out. Because people under 21 years are prohibited from drinking alcohol, they see it as a forbidden fruit which leads to a lot of curiosity.
To avoid curiosity, the legal drinking age should be 18 years to accommodate all youths. This means that when an 18 year old is allowed to drink, it will help to kill curiosity and no longer be considered a forbidden fruit. As far as college life is concerned, students who are under 21 years can not be allowed to hold alcohol which makes them to rebel. In this case, they will drink irresponsibly thereby leading to serious problems like death. The legal drinking age should be 18 years because by doing this, it will be done in public thereby making it easy for supervision. This means that police and health workers will be able to supervise the drinking behavior of these youths thereby minimizing problems and disasters (Lovett 29). Outlawing alcohol consumption for people who are under the age of 18 year is not good because it makes the problem worse. This has been augmented for by colleges because it will help to reduce alcohol related deaths which are prevalent in many institutions.
The law should be changed because people under the age of 21 years have always drunk more when they get alcohol. This implies that there is a lot of uncertainty that should be done away with because they never know when they will get alcohol again. It should be known that the legal drinking age does not matter because there are bound to be problems in either way. Therefore, making the legal drinking age to be 18 does not solve the problem in any way (Tait 22). This is the main reason why there are a lot of alcohol related deaths which arguments well for the legal drinking age to be 18 years. Individuals who are 18 years can be charged in any court because of different crimes and false judgments which means that they are considered mature enough to make good decisions. In this case, they should be allowed to drink because limiting them to 21 years is somehow hypocritical (Lovett 45). The drinking age should be 18 years because they are allowed to get married yet they can not have fun by drinking alcohol even on their wedding day which sounds ridiculous.
Comparisons with other countries
The legal drinking age in the country is different from other countries which is a fact. In this case, it should be known that laws that govern drinking age in different countries cover a wide range of issues. As much as the law in the country is wholesome as far as alcoholic drinks are concerned, some other countries have different age limits for various alcoholic drinks. This means that the legal drinking age will continue to vary in relation to acceptable cultures. As a matter of fact, the legal drinking age varies from zero to 21 years as is the case with the United States of America (Tait 28). People can still drink under 21 years because of different prevailing circumstances. There is a problem of identifying the right minimum drinking age in different countries because of diversity issues in the society. When compared with other countries, the minimum drinking age of 21 years seems to be ineffective and counterproductive in a broad way.
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Most countries consider adults to be over 18 years just like in the US but there is no restriction as far as drinking alcohol is concerned. There are countries like Italy, China and Greece where the drinking age is lower but they have not witnessed many problems (Tait 44). This means that there are fewer alcohol related problems which justifies the need for the country to reduce the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 years. The current law in United States of America has caused a lot of problems which should not be allowed to persist because the situation can be reversed for long term sustainability. It should be known that youths in other countries are allowed to drink at an early age which minimizes curiosity thereby allowing them to concentrate on their studies. This means that youth drinking rates and related problems are high in America than other countries that have a lower legal drinking age. As much as this might be disputable, the country should reduce the minimum legal drinking age from 21 to 18 years for long term sustainability.
Works Cited
Lovett, Kenneth. Let kids start drinking at 18. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Tait, Robert. New alcohol law prompts fears for Turkish bar trade. London: Oxford, 2008. Print.