Since 1984, drinking alcohol in the United States was made illegal for anyone under the age of 21.  Before this point, drinking was legal for all ages 18 and up.  In 1984, the US quickly raised the drinking age due to increased alcohol related fatalities, and other alcohol related accidents.  At the same time, we live in a society where in all other aspects, you are legally considered an adult by the age of 18.  In many other countries, legislation has allowed 18 year olds to drink and there have not seemed to be an exponential increase in alcohol related accidents (Faulders).  Although we saw an increase in alcohol related accidents before 1984, we now live in a world in which you're legally an adult at 18 and can even enlist to the armed services before 21.  Lowering the drinking age back down should be reconsidered in this day and age where many legal responsibilities fall on kids' shoulders at 18.

All three sources I have chosen so far have been similar news articles, ranging from ABC to CNN to NY Times. Each of the three articles compliment each other in a successful, unique way. The first source is a news article from the NY Times discussing why the drinking age should be lowered. Before the drinking age had been raised to 21, more than 50% of the States in the US had set the bar for the drinking age at 18.  These states experienced a slight increase in traffic fatalities due to alcohol and other alcohol induced accidents.  This went on throughout most of the 1970's and into the 80's before federal legislation moved the drinking age up to 21 in all 50 states in the US (Glaser). Also, Gabrielle Glaser believes that a lower drinking age helps teach kids how to control it responsibly.  Many underage teenagers have no problem getting their hands on alcohol.  She states that a lower drinking age with stricter enforcement would be beneficial in the United States (Glaser). One of the biggest effects that has been seen with our current laws is that many minors just take drinking underground altogether.  It's seen almost everywhere, such as big high school parties and fraternity events (Glaser). A 2009 study shows that alcohol poisoning deaths among 18 to 24 year olds nearly tripled from 1998 to 2005 (Glaser). Glaser poses a good question towards the end of her article: "Why expect 21 year olds to learn how to drink responsibly without learning from moderate models, at home and in alcohol education programs?"

The second news article, entitled "Should the drinking age stay at 21?," also discusses why the drinking age should be lowered. There are many benefits to lowering the drinking age down to 18 again and one of them would be to teach minors under the age of 21 how to handle alcohol responsibly. A psychologist, David J. Hanson, Ph.D., stated: "When we raise the drinking age to 21, which incidentally is the highest in the world, it makes drinking more attractive to young people" (Faulders). While many argue that the statistics say that a lower drinking age increases traffic fatalities and other accidents; there's also been similar results from tougher seat belt and D.U.I. legislation. Having the drinking age at such a high age does not prevent minors from drinking, but rather drives it underground in a typically unsafe environment (Faulders). However, alcoholism is another repercussion that has been seen in many who start drinking while their brain is still not fully developed.  Research has shown that, in many cases, people who drank earlier had a significantly higher chance of developing alcoholism problems (Faulders). However, many countries with a lower drinking age have not documented alcohol abuse problems from the lower drinking ages (Faulders). Therefore, why would we not lower the age?

There are arguments backed by evidence for the legislation to go either way on the drinking age.  The third news article, entitled "Should the U.S. lower its drinking age?," introduces Josh McCardell, the President of University of the South (Sewanee). Griggs includes: "Right now we're in an impossible position (on college campuses). Why should we be expected to enforce a law that's ignored by 70 percent of students before they even come (to college)?"  McCardell believes that the drinking age should be lowered to 19.  This is the rough age when most kids are in their first couple years of college.  This age, instead of 18, allows a teenager to start learning about using alcohol and how to control it while in college.  Many college presidents were on board with McCardell's plan but sadly, the economy crashed right around the time that they proposed their plan to legislators and they turned their heads to bigger priorities (Griggs).  McCardell indeed sides with lowering the drinking age, however he doesn't take as drastic measures like Heath's theory. Dwight Heath, an anthropology professor at Brown University makes the statement that the drinking age should be lowered to 8 or maybe even 6. He claims that if you were to model it into culture earlier, kids would handle it more maturely and we'd see less of the rebellious teens that want to abuse alcohol in the teenage years.  "In general, the younger people start to drink the safer they are," said Heath (Griggs). On top of what Heath has said regarding the drinking age, the United States also has the highest drinking age of any country in the world.  In many European countries, teens that legally drink alcohol don't really consider it to be exciting or out of the ordinary; it's just a part of life.  It isn't causing an increase in alcohol related accidents either because many teens easily control their intake of alcohol (Griggs).  

When the drinking age was again increased to 21 in 1984, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported the significant decrease in drunk driving statistics.  A study looked at traffic deaths of people between the ages of 16-20 in 1982 and 1995.  In 1982, around 61% of all traffic deaths included positive blood alcohol levels in the drivers. Later on in 1995, this percentage was almost cut in half, down to 31% (Griggs). 

To keep the drinking age at 21 is a futile battle in our generation.  There are ways of controlling legislation for a lower drinking age that also doesn't increase the rate of alcohol-induced accidents.  Other parts of the world have successfully controlled it and even taken away a lot of the self felt need to abuse it underground.  We are legal adults by the age of 18 and the drinking age should correspond in a similar manor.  The United States would see the benefits mentioned above if some sort of controlled law making lowered the drinking age again.

