Since the passage of the 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act, the debate over what the drinking age in the United States should be has been on the mind of politicians, scholars, and normal citizens alike.  In a constantly progressing world it seems as thought the United States is being left behind.  America is a massive outlier in terms of its drinking age and it is not even helping the youth of the country.  In fact, Americans are drinking less than Europeans, but dying more often from it.  According to The Daily Beast, a Pop Culture news outlet, "Americans aged 15 and up drink only three-quarters as much alcohol as Europeans, but are far more likely to be involved in fatal alcohol-related accidents or die from other alcohol-related causes" (Sessions).  This appalling statistic stems from the general issue with the American drinking culture which follows the mindset of the country as a whole: the bigger or the more excessive the better.  Due to the higher drinking age (set at twenty-one), massive black markets, dangerous underground binge drinking scenes, and a general lack of drinking education has lead to one of the deadliest drinking settings in the world.  This issue can not be completely resolved as people will always make bad decisions.  Despite this, the major issues with drinking, especially on college campuses in the U.S could be curtailed, and the best way to start that process is by dropping the legal drinking age back down to eighteen.

If the age were to be reduced once again, a noticeable decline would happen in one of the nations biggest illegal black markets which is alcohol related goods.  Dating all the way back to the days of Prohibition the United States has been the home to one of the biggest alcohol black markets in the world.  While the tradition of running moonshine is still around in the hills of the central-east coast, a new enemy has reared its head to authorities.  The new player in the alcohol black market is fake identification.  Not only does the distribution of fake ID's allow for under-age drinking but it also can put the owner in some truly hot water.  They can be charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree, or even charged with a felony in certain states.  This means entire lives could be ruined simply because an adult (18-20) simply wanted to have a beer.  It seems as though law enforcement should be more worried about major crimes and keeping a city safe then arresting college kids who are just trying to unwind.

Another spread of black market sales has been scene on college campuses around the nation.  A major source of alcohol trading hands is upperclassmen selling to underclassmen.  This has led to the a very unhealthy, hidden drinking scene in the U.S.  A professor at Boston University recalls learning of a fraternity that, "had shut-down drills, where at the first sign of campus police or somebody coming to inspect on a Saturday night, they'd blow the whistle and every brother in the place knew exactly what to do and how to clean the place up" (Berghaus).  Some would argue that re-lowering the age to 18 would enable this sort of ridiculous behavior, but the issue lies in the fact that students must feel obligated to hide their drinking.  It has created a culture of unhealthy, binge drinking in dorm rooms and other unsupervised areas simply because they must hide from authority figures, who instead of reprimanding them should be teaching and advocating safe drinking habits.

Furthermore, some recall the benefits of having age set at 18.  It is no surprise to most that a lot of college students drink.  It makes them social, allows them to unwind, and is seen as a time in your life to go a little wild before the real world shows up on their front steps.  However, this wildness used to be maintained and supervised much better.  For instance, Mary Kate Cary a former White House correspondent recalled in her article Time to Lower the Drinking Age, "when I was an undergrad, the drinking age was 18. Fraternities had kegs out in the open on university property, and student gatherings on campus often included beer. I remember university police regularly strolling through the fraternity parties, making sure everything was under control. That tended to keep a lid on things" (Cary).  This safe scene has changed dramatically since Ms. Cary went to school.  Now, things have altered completely.  The campus police there to keep students safe have become vilified and taunted.  Drinking from kegs in open safer environments has morphed into pounding shots in dorm rooms and being rowdy once the RM officer on duty is out of earshot.  All of these things add up to only one thing, and that is bad decision making.  Drinking is meant to be a fun, sometimes relaxing way to connect with those around you.  The new style of drinking has lost touch with that.  It teaches how to be competitive, conformist, and disrespectful.  From a young age people are challenged to drink as much as possible, as fast as possible, and I'm sure this idea has been around even before the age switch.  However, thee difference now is there is no way to stop it.  No one is around to educate, help, or stop things when they get to out of control.  Some might not even call 911 during an emergency simply because they do not want to get arrested.  If the age was re-shifted to 18 many lives would be saved because new, inexperienced drinkers would not have to learn in hidden, lose-lose situations.

Another common fear that comes with alcohol is the threat of date rape.  When alcohol is consumed in quantity inhibitions and judgment are greatly reduced and it is often said this spikes sexual assault occurrences, but this is an unfair way of looking at it.  For example, Scott Hampton, the director of Ending the Violence and the Consexuality Project, a sexual violence prevention initiative, gives a better way at thinking about alcohol and sexual assault.  He explains that, "alcohol use does not cause sexual violence. Putting alcohol into your system does not cause you to commit a sexual assault anymore than putting gasoline into your car causes you to drive to the airport" (Hampton).  Although, alcohol does lead some people to make decisions, it is unfair to think lowering the drinking age would in anyway effect the number of sexual assaults.  In the end alcohol can not be blamed for the reason behind date rape.  This somewhat dismisses the person from the crime that they committed because they simply point at the substance as the reason for why they behaved in a certain way, while the true issue lies within the own person.  Overall, the claim that date rape would increase with the drinking age at 18 really has no substantial backing.

Another main issue that blocks lowering the drinking age is the notion that hundreds of thousands of people have had their lives saved to traffic fatalities with the age set at 21.  While lives may have been saved it is not because of the new law.  This opinion is shared by a writer on the New York Times staff, Gabrielle Glaser.  Instead she explains that, "tougher seatbelt and D.U.I. rules have contributed to the decrease" (Glaser).  Later she goes on to speak about a 2009 study, "published in The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that between 1998 and 2005, the number of cases of alcohol poisoning deaths among 18- to 24-year-olds nearly tripled, jumping from 779 cases to 2,290" (Glaser).  This means that lives aren't being saved, rather the deaths are being reallocated.  Due to the higher age kids are drinking in secret leading to more alcohol related deaths off the roadways, which in no way solves the problem.  Rather, it makes it noticeably worse by fostering uneducated drinking.  Clearly, the law may have improved roadways but could have destroyed private homes instead.   

In addition, new, easier forms of public transportation have gotten drinkers home from a raucous night lately.  With the emergence of better technology, the roads have become much safer even with the same amount of intoxicated people around.  This is through two things mainly, Uber and cell phones.  Uber, for those who do not know is an application that can be downloaded on to a smartphone for free.  Once you have it a cab service can be called from most locations at a click of a button.  This sort of instant response keeps drunk individuals off the road because they know they have a back up plan.  They can leave their buddies house, go out, have a good time, and not have to worry about how to get home or leaving their car somewhere, because a ride is already arranged with the downloading of a single app.  To be fair the 21-year-old drinking age was passed in 1984.  When it was released there were no phones, less safe cars, and certainly no phone applications.  So, perhaps in the 80's this law made plenty of sense, but it no longer holds traction.  This law is completely obsolete and the U.S has to leave the past behind in terms of their drinking policies.

Also, the most basic argument and the most common one is that the current law infantilizes young adults.  Young men who can fight in a war, operate a vehicle, and vote for leaders who shape the future of America are not allowed to drink an adult beverage.  At this rate we should put the driving age up to 21 too because people die in car accidents frequently, especially younger, more inexperienced drivers.  This sort of infantilizing is expressed by a former trustee at Hamilton college when he stated, "The rules and the nanny mentality that existed was not helpful. It was not what I remembered from my experience in college" (Seaman).  He goes on to explain that he believes the main problem is the law separates young people and full adults at a time in their lives when they are going to be drinking anyway.  Furthermore, he says that if we look elsewhere on this earth people think American drinking is quite pitiful and that the law makes 21 year olds do what a possible 17-year-old, would be doing.  In the end, having the drinking age at 21 is unfair to those who are considered adults by law and can not even be trusted with being able to handle themselves while drinking.

Finally, it is no secret that the United States is an outlier in terms of drinking age.  It is only one of twelve countries that have their MLDA drinking age set at 21.  Also, the other eleven countries that share the drinking age are not developed and include: Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kiribati, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Oman, Palau, and Samoa (procon.org).  While it is not fair to say these are lesser countries and we should not agree with them it is an interesting fact.  All of the most civilized, economically developed, and well educated countries do not agree with our current drinking age.  In order to become healthier drinkers and it is wise to shift to a system that is proven to work and that is the European drinking age system where most minimum ages are 16-18.

While Europeans rank among the heaviest drinkers, they are also the safest.  Most people attribute this to better public transportation and alcohol awareness but the government policies there are actually the catalysts for their great drinking habits.  For instance, in the Netherlands when an individual gets their first D.U.I they are not riddled with massive fines, told to expect to face jail time or any other crazy punishment.  Rather, they are told to be ready to be educated.  This is because first time offenders have to complete, "a three-day (driving) course given to people who participated in traffic with a BAC between 1.3 pro mille and 1.8 pro mille" (Dutch alcohol policy, STAP).  This choice to educate rather than demonize alcohol creates a better and safer environment and stigma around the potentially dangerous substance.  Additionally, the federal government has built 12 centers throughout the country who help treat and detox people with drinking problems at the cost of little to nothing.  They estimate that, "Yearly the 12 regional centres treat 31,000 people with an alcohol problem" (STAP).  The numbers do not lie, and as is seen in the Netherlands education and treatment is the correct route to stop alcohol related problems, not punishment and higher drinking ages.

As seen above there are plenty of reasons to dislike the current drinking age law.  But, it is not fair to simply point fingers, list statistics, and blame politicians for not making the right decisions.  Instead, people in the U.S have to make a change themselves.  Although changing the drinking age to 18 is a solid start to the problem, people also need to educate themselves about alcohol consumption.  This issue of education starts at the family level.  Parents need to be open to teaching their children about the correct way to consume and handle alcohol.  Currently in the U.S the way kids find out about the powers of alcohol is in a basement at 16-years-old.  This is the least safe and worst way to learn.  In fact, the proper course of action is to slowly allow a young person to be around the substance in a family setting.  Perhaps try a sip of wine at dinner or have a beer during a family outing while they are young.  There they can be monitored and taught healthy drinking habits.  In fact, in a study conducted in Australia out of 888 participants surveyed they found that the safest drinkers (those with no alcohol related crimes on their record) were ones who grew up drinking with their families (Jones).  It should also be known that Australia's legal drinking age is 18.  The study goes on to state that not demonizing the thought of alcohol and punishing if it is consumed is the best way to foster a healthy drinking culture.

Drinking in the United States has become dangerous, underground, and unsupervised.  Due to this, young adults these days have developed unhealthy drinking habits and have turned an activity that is supposed t be fun into one that could claim your life.  A main reason for this is the United States having its drinking age set at 21.  Not only is the law dated and hurtful but it also fosters a lack of education and ignorance on the subject of alcohol.  In order to change this issue family's, have to become more involved in teaching their kids how to be responsible and a more European approach should be taken to drinking.  As many writers and educators have said they feel todays law infantilizes adults and pushes them into underground drinking and purchasing goods from a black market.  All the stats that suggest having the age hold at 21 are dated as technology has truly been the aspect of life that is keeping roadways and lives safer.  In the end, the best course of action to create the best drinking environment in America is education.  The more people know, the better they will be equipped to deal with situations pertaining to alcohol.  If the MLDA official drinking age is lowered to 18 along with an altered drinking attitude, the U.S will become a much safer, more intelligent nation.

