This issue of drinking underage is an issue that not only pertains to me, but the majority of college students across the nation. So many people under the age of twenty-one drink alcohol that it has become a normal practice. Why is it that this law is so difficult to enforce? It seems that the police focus more on containing the issue than preventing it.  It has come to the point where the police know they are not going to be able to prevent the majority of people under the age of twenty-one from drinking. The issue at hand is whether or not eighteen is reasonable for the drinking age, rather than twenty-one. There are people that binge drink, and drink solely to, "get drunk," and there are also those individuals that drink socially. As far as my values, I do not like the decisions that individuals make as a result from binge drinking. When people get drunk, they are unable to think clearly, and make responsible decisions. I believe it is very important for people to know how to drink socially and responsibly. I, personally, am exposed to under-aged drinking, and I know how it can affect people. It is hard to avoid drinking as a college student since the majority of college students like to drink for fun. I can relate to this controversy, and write about this issue because I drink, and all of my friends drink.  

Although there are different points made by different authors, the majority of authors in favor of lowering the drinking age agree in terms of their arguments. The question they ask is, "Why can eighteen-year-olds serve their country, and use a weapon, but not consume alcohol?" The problem is not consuming a beer; it is how a beer is consumed. Drinking a beer while spending time with friends watching football, and drinking as much beer as you can to get drunk in the matter of a few hours, are two complete different scenarios. Since underage drinking is already a problem, some argue that lowering the drinking age will only make the problem worse. However, others argue that lowering the drinking age will help the problem and teach safe drinking. All three sources are credible, and each received their information from state representatives, and other informative people.  There are representatives that argue that this is a law that is not being followed or strictly enforced. Why keep a law that is not serving its purpose? For example, John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College, said, "This law has been an absolute failure, it hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings." When people drink "underground", they are doing so in unsafe environments and conditions, This allows for more illegal issues to occur simply because those underage are going to continue to drink, and drink in an unsafe way anyway. This is a law that is not followed by the majority of people under the age of twenty-one. In contrast, the MADD or Mothers Against Drunk Driving, state that making the drink age twenty-one has saved 17,00 lives on the highway since 1988.    

This issue is arguable because there are pros and cons to lowering the drinking age to eighteen. The authors in favor of lowering the drinking age argue that if the United States had European-based drinking laws, people would be more knowledgeable about safe drinking and drinking socially, instead of binge drinking. Authors have also argued that if eighteen-year-olds can purchase a gun and serve their country, then they should be able to drink alcohol. Those in favor of keeping the legal drinking age at twenty-one argue that drinking-related accidents have decreased since the legal age of consuming alcohol was changed to twenty-one. Others can counter argue these statements by arguing that car safety features, and the amount of people wearing seatbelts has also increased.  These different perspectives contribute to my beliefs, because all though I find truth in both the pros and cons, I feel the pros outweigh the cons. For example, parents being able to teach safe drinking habits to their children while they are still at home will allow for children to take these habits with them to college. Although there will always be issue with controlling who drinks, and how people drink, lowering the drinking age would give people the opportunity to practice safe drinking for a longer period of time.

