Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Drinking Age
Eighteen and Need a Drink
Teenagers become adults at the age of eighteen; they earn the responsibility to vote and to fight for our country, so why shouldn’t they be able to consume alcohol? Some adults feel that lowering the legal drinking age would cause more problems on the road and in bars or night clubs, but until we give young adults the opportunity to prove themselves, we are just stereotyping every eighteen-year-old. Here are a couple of reasons that lowering the legal drinking age makes sense: eighteen-year-olds are able to fight and die for your country, states are allowing underage alcohol consumption on alcohol-selling premises, with parental consent, and alcohol is easily accessible at bars and restaurants.
If young adults are able to serve in the military with the possibility that they might be killed before they turn the legal age of twenty-one, then why not let them be able to have a drink. Per Rod Powers (2013),
In the old days anyone on active duty …show more content…
could consume alcohol on military installations, regardless of the legal drinking age off-base. However, in the mid 80s, advocacy groups, such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunken Drivers) lobbied Congress to change this. Federal law requires military installation commanders to adopt the same drinking age as the state the military base is located in. The only exception to this rule is if the base is located within 50 miles of Canada or Mexico, or a state with a lower drinking age, the installation commander may adopt the lower drinking age for military personnel on base.
When service men and women are stationed in foreign ports, they are allowed to drink as long as the host nation’s law allows it. If other countries are allowing our military to consume alcohol at the age of eighteen, then why wouldn’t our own country?
Eleven states currently allow underage drinking at alcohol-selling premises, such as restaurants and bars; Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In these states as long as you are in the presence of, or your drink was purchased by, your legal guardian, then you are able to take part in underage drinking. In the state of Wisconsin, for example, when a fifteen-year-old enters a bar the bartender is happy to serve them a beer as long as the parent is there to give them permission. Per MikeWhaley, owner of Wile-e’s in Edgerton, WI, “If they’re 15, 16, 17, its fine if they want to sit down and have a few beers, but at times I’ve had situations where a parent was going to buy drinks for a kid who looked 8 or 10 years old; I had to say, that’s a no-go”.(as quoted in Johnson, 2008) This shows that bartenders aren’t selling alcohol to any child as long as they are accompanied by their guardian; however, this also shows that underage drinking, at least in these eleven states hasn’t been an issue.
Drinking as a youth has become much easier than it once was in the past.
Children these days are maturing much faster, so it would seem, than they had over the last twenty years. This is especially seen in young women, not due to them physically changing, but because their fashion has changed. They are either dressing more sophisticated or trashier, which puts the owners and workers in a predicament. This also makes buying alcohol at restaurants and bars an easier challenge, since the servers and bartenders think that the youth is much older than they actually are. Most establishments do not card underage drinkers as much as they are supposed to. States require, but they don’t card anyone that looks younger than thirty-five years of age, but how do you identify someone’s age by just looking at them without offending them? This is why restaurants and bars are having such a hard time maintaining their carding responsibilities, and also why children are able to drink at a much younger
age.
Underage drinking is happening and will never go away. We need to realize that kids like to drink as much, if not more than adults, and there is no way to truly prevent them from taking part in this activity. Children are watching every move that we make as adults, so if you are drinking around your child, then they more than likely will want to partake in drinking when they are of age, if not earlier. Allowing underage drinking in the presence of a parent or guardian helps teens learn to drink responsibly. Our armed forces consider eighteen-year-olds responsible enough to serve, so why are they not responsible enough to drink? If restaurants and bars are allowing young adults to drink in their establishments, then why not lower the drinking age to eighteen?
References
Johnson, D. (2008, November 15). Some see big problem in Wisconsin drinking. NY Times , p. A16.
Powers, R. (2013). Military Drinking Age. Retrieved August 16, 2013, from About.com: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/drinkingage.htm
Teenagers become adults at the age of eighteen; they earn the responsibility to vote and to fight for our country, so why shouldn’t they be able to consume alcohol? Some adults feel that lowering the legal drinking age would cause more problems on the road and in bars or night clubs, but until we give young adults the opportunity to prove themselves, we are just stereotyping every eighteen-year-old. Here are a couple of reasons that lowering the legal drinking age makes sense: eighteen-year-olds are able to fight and die for your country, states are allowing underage alcohol consumption on alcohol-selling premises, with parental consent, and alcohol is easily accessible at bars and restaurants.
If young adults are able to serve in the military with the possibility that they might be killed before they turn the legal age of twenty-one, then why not let them be able to have a drink. Per Rod Powers (2013),
In the old days anyone on active duty …show more content…
could consume alcohol on military installations, regardless of the legal drinking age off-base. However, in the mid 80s, advocacy groups, such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunken Drivers) lobbied Congress to change this. Federal law requires military installation commanders to adopt the same drinking age as the state the military base is located in. The only exception to this rule is if the base is located within 50 miles of Canada or Mexico, or a state with a lower drinking age, the installation commander may adopt the lower drinking age for military personnel on base.
When service men and women are stationed in foreign ports, they are allowed to drink as long as the host nation’s law allows it. If other countries are allowing our military to consume alcohol at the age of eighteen, then why wouldn’t our own country?
Eleven states currently allow underage drinking at alcohol-selling premises, such as restaurants and bars; Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In these states as long as you are in the presence of, or your drink was purchased by, your legal guardian, then you are able to take part in underage drinking. In the state of Wisconsin, for example, when a fifteen-year-old enters a bar the bartender is happy to serve them a beer as long as the parent is there to give them permission. Per MikeWhaley, owner of Wile-e’s in Edgerton, WI, “If they’re 15, 16, 17, its fine if they want to sit down and have a few beers, but at times I’ve had situations where a parent was going to buy drinks for a kid who looked 8 or 10 years old; I had to say, that’s a no-go”.(as quoted in Johnson, 2008) This shows that bartenders aren’t selling alcohol to any child as long as they are accompanied by their guardian; however, this also shows that underage drinking, at least in these eleven states hasn’t been an issue.
Drinking as a youth has become much easier than it once was in the past.
Children these days are maturing much faster, so it would seem, than they had over the last twenty years. This is especially seen in young women, not due to them physically changing, but because their fashion has changed. They are either dressing more sophisticated or trashier, which puts the owners and workers in a predicament. This also makes buying alcohol at restaurants and bars an easier challenge, since the servers and bartenders think that the youth is much older than they actually are. Most establishments do not card underage drinkers as much as they are supposed to. States require, but they don’t card anyone that looks younger than thirty-five years of age, but how do you identify someone’s age by just looking at them without offending them? This is why restaurants and bars are having such a hard time maintaining their carding responsibilities, and also why children are able to drink at a much younger
age.
Underage drinking is happening and will never go away. We need to realize that kids like to drink as much, if not more than adults, and there is no way to truly prevent them from taking part in this activity. Children are watching every move that we make as adults, so if you are drinking around your child, then they more than likely will want to partake in drinking when they are of age, if not earlier. Allowing underage drinking in the presence of a parent or guardian helps teens learn to drink responsibly. Our armed forces consider eighteen-year-olds responsible enough to serve, so why are they not responsible enough to drink? If restaurants and bars are allowing young adults to drink in their establishments, then why not lower the drinking age to eighteen?
References
Johnson, D. (2008, November 15). Some see big problem in Wisconsin drinking. NY Times , p. A16.
Powers, R. (2013). Military Drinking Age. Retrieved August 16, 2013, from About.com: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/drinkingage.htm