The 21st birthday bar tour. The birthday person blows out the candles, goes to a bar, drinks excessively, vomits, and passes out. Friends remind them the next day what happened. This is the 21st birthday ritual--it is a distinctly American ritual that continues to be one of the most harmful effects of the 21 laws. In the United States, young adults can drive, hunt, marry, divorce, vote, and go to war before alcohol is legally allowed to touch their lips. There is no rationality to this. No rational reason exists to explain why a young adult at the age of 18 should be allowed to decide who the potential leader of the country should be, take a bullet for their country, be tried in court, and not be able to drink at their own wedding. Since an 18 year old adult is capable of making every other decision as an adult and are expected to take responsibility for those decisions, the 21 laws need to be brought into sync with every other right that is awarded once a person comes of age.
The 21 drinking age law, enacted in 1984, is not only unconstitutional but fails to lower alcohol related causalities. In fact, raising the drinking age to 21--rather than keeping it at 18, the age deemed acceptable for all other adult responsibilities--has a negative backlash with proven negative effects reaching all areas of society. Some of these negative effects include binge drinking and underground drinking, among other social problems.
History proves that prohibition laws do not work, they are simply counterproductive. The National Prohibition in the 1920s and the State Prohibition during the 1850s were both repealed because they were unenforceable and because of the backlash of other social problems. We should not continue to commit the same mistakes from our past. Prohibition did not work in the first two attempts, and prohibition for people under the age of 21 is not working now.
For responsible drinking habits to form across the nation alcohol needs to be seen neither as a poison nor a magic potent. The 21 laws continue to be inconsistent, counterproductive, and unconstitutional.
I agree with what you are saying here. It gives room for people under the age of 21 to have the opportunity to rebel. If the drinking age is lowered, it will let 18 year olds know that we are addressing the fact that they are responsible adults. Ergo, they will act more responsible with drinking. It's a win win situation!
ReplyDeleteWell said! Your extra research was also very helpful in this invective, and your argument was incredibly strong.
ReplyDeleteIn most European countries, the drinking age is 16, but you aren't allowed to drive until you're 18 - you get the binge drinking and passing out over with before you decide to get behind the wheel of your car in a drunken stupor.
I also think that as long as something is illegal, it will remain a sort of novelty. Most teens drink because of the thrill behind it - they're not allowed to, by either their parents or the government, and that just makes them desire to go out and "party" in an unsafe environment even more.
Thanks for your insight!
I just recently turned 21. I had a lot of fun, minus the puking and passing out. Possibly in part because I have been frequenting bars since I was 16 (that sounds really bad). You give us something to think about. As a parent I think the the legal drinking age of 21 is acceptable(perhaps we should raise the voting age, when you can marry, and go to war). As a young adult, however, I agree with your stance on the issue. Your argument in this invective was convincing.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is a strong argument for lowering the drinking age. However statistics show that teenagers are the most likely demographic to get into car accidents that are fatal, and furthermore teenagers are the demographic most likely to get into alcohol related car accidents. However if we are going to talk about truly illogical prohibitory laws lets talk marijuana laws.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with the point of view Janessa expressed as a parent-I think it's perfectly acceptable to leave the drinking age at 21, and would prefer (even as a student) that if you were going to even the field, raise the other ages. I also think there are differences in some restrictions for certain purposes. I don't think everything has to be necessarily at one age. Would you let a 9 year old drive just because he/she gets some other privilege? I think it's a seniortiy thing. When you reach this age you have proven the maturity to get this privilege. Perhaps parents should do a better job of teaching their children to respect rules, instead of changing them to adapt to kids' wants. Parents and adults are here to raise a generation and set an example, not to befriend and corrupt them.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought to ponder, can you give me a particular reason the rule is unconstitutional? Or direct me to a place in the constitution that it is violating??
I completely agree with you, Meagan. The United States is very behind in terms of drinking ages. Although it seems it would be a good solution to just raise the other ages, that would be unsatisfactory to the military who needs young, strong men who aren't necessarily in college to take on the labor-heavy positions on the battlefield.
ReplyDeleteAnother tip if you would ever like to expand this argument in the future is to look at the fatality rates related to alcohol in the United States when compared to countries that allow drinking at a younger age. (I've poked around and it's definitely something to support your argument.) Demystifying alcohol will reduce so many alcohol-related incidents such as binge drinking, alcoholism, and alcohol-related fatalities.
The extra evidence that you provided definitely solidifies your argument as well. :)
I think that you have a really good point! I don't see why we can go to war and basically everything else in this country expect drink. You made a good argument!
ReplyDeleteWow! I totally agree with you. I'm happy to have finally found someone else who agrees. Most other college students when we talk about drinking age still think it should be 21 because of whatever dumb reason. I think that the age should definitely be 21 for all of the same reasons you said. The biggest one for me is enlisting in the military. If you can enlist and join the military and go oversea's and kill people, you should definitely be able drink at the age of 18. Very strong and good argument.
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