Be like the Europeans

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act is a law that made a large impact on the everyday lives of American youth. It only became a national law in 1984, imbedding the twenty-one year old drinking age into the American society. The law was passed due to the growing problems with drinking youths. The age was raised from eighteen to twenty-one to, supposedly, prevent harm to the individual drinker and to the society. Some advocate the maintenance of the current drinking law, while others speak out against it and lobby for lowering the age back to eighteen. Both sides have consistently made their points and have strongly argued for what they believe in, but it seems that the arguments for lowering the drinking age are beginning to prevail in a society where many have had a drink before their twenty-first birthday. Opinions that America should follow the example of Europe's low drinking age are many and make up a large amount of the overall argument to lower the drinking age, as do numerous other issues. Although countless conservative men and women may say that a low drinking age would result in dire consequences, this is not the case. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would make a tremendous and beneficial impact on society across America.

Drinking is often times referred to as a tantalizing "forbidden fruit;" it is the excitement and adrenaline rush of breaking the rules that seems to entice many underage teenagers to follow in the prevalent trend of binge drinking. In the present times, uneducated kids such as these are known to break the rules by buying fake id's, drinking excess amounts of alcohol, going to parties, and getting sick weekend after weekend. The nation-spread tendency has triggered many to believe that possibly, if the United States were to lower the drinking age to 18, as it is in Europe, binge drinking and overall consumption of alcohol would decrease. In Europe, along with many countries, "alcohol is neither seen as a poison nor a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink, irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, and young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner (Engs)." And as many have noticed in the past while visiting countries that exhibit such culture, teenagers and young adults feel no desire to drink and get drunk. Although they do consume alcohol, it is in a responsible manner taught to them by their parents at a very young age. It is on rare occasion that one will find teenagers in Europe having an out-of-control party at someone's house while their parents are away. Young people there learn to regard moderate drinking as an enjoyable social activity rather than as something they have to sneak around to do and according to many teenagers, things that they are not allowed to have are certainly things they will do anything in their power to obtain. It seems to be that while American teenagers are enticed into drinking by of the unjust drinking law, Europeans are responsible and independent due to their current laws.

It is at some point of this ongoing debate that a statement is made about the maturity of an eighteen year old. "Teenagers are adults in the eyes of the court at 17, can drive a car at 16, and can vote, marry, carry a gun, and go to war at 18. Yet, they cannot have a glass of wine until they are 21" (Palma). Many ask why it is that when someone turns eighteen, they are immediately allowed to vote, buy cigarettes, and fight for their country, but it is absolutely prohibited to have a drink after doing so. It is proven fact that deaths from cigarette smoking outnumber deaths due to drinking. Not to mention that it is almost hypocritical to say that someone who is eighteen is enough of an adult to die in war, but too much of a child to drink alcohol. Of course, a change in the drinking age law, where teenagers go from being irresponsible with alcohol, to being well educated about the topic would not occur rapidly. It would be up to parents as well as school officials to make sure that these eighteen to twenty year olds drink in a safe and supervised environment where adults are present. "Young adults should be allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs, and official university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs" (Engs). Countless teenagers, as well as parents have responded to such suggestions with approval and believe that this would be a positive way to educate about alcohol. In fact some parents say that they would much rather have teen-agers drinking in a controlled environment rather that having a situations where "200 kids will crowd into a basement of a house, turn off all the lights, and drink themselves sick" (Palma). In any case, if the law was to be altered and eighteen year olds allowed to consume alcohol, adults would have to chaperone adults, as it is in most occurrences of life.

As any other controversial issue, there are two sides to lowering the drinking age, and it would be ignorant not to address the uncertainties that some may harbor. Several who have spoken out against amending the law have brought up worries that drinking and driving rates would go up if the age is lowered. "How is it certain that those under twenty one years of age will be adequately educated and wont drink and drive?" (Conway). It is this topic that can be addressed with proof that drinking and driving rates began to decline long before the drinking age was initially changed to twenty one. "The declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law which mandated states to have 21 year old alcohol purchase laws. The decrease is a result of many factors such as education, designated

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