There are many reasons the topic about the drinking age appeals to me. It interests me because of the fact that it has been an ongoing debate in the U.S. for years. Also, the U.S currently has the highest minimum drinking age in the world. It affects me directly because I am 19 years old and unable to drink. I could serve my country as some of my friends are doing and vote on political matters but I am not responsible enough to have a beer which I do not think is right. I am becoming qualified to write about this topic because of the amount of research I am putting into the project and into the debate on the drinking age. I have found and read numerous articles from college presidents to worried moms about the different views about the drinking age.

To further my knowledge about the debate, I found three new articles concerning the argument. The first article is titled, "Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based on research". The article relates the drinking age being at 21 to the prohibition of the 1920's saying that it is unenforceable and it is causing younger people to become binge drinkers. It also states that there is a higher percentage of young people who are heavy drinkers than there are of people over the age of 21. The article claims that the reason the number of drinking and driving accidents has gone down is because of other factors such as lower speed limits, safer cars, and more knowledge about drinking and driving. I think that the source is credible because it was written by Ruth C. Engs, who is a college professor who has done over 20 years of research into the topic. After all her years of research, he is biased towards having the drinking age lowered from 21 to 18.

The second article that I found was titled, "A Lower Age Would Be Unsafe". The article claims that the drinking age being at 21 has saved lives. It states that the number of young drivers dying from alcohol related incidents has shrunk in half from what it used to be. The article also claims that lowering the age at which kids can start to drink would increase the number of teens who engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking is not something kids should participate in as it can lead to them becoming an alcoholic. One final reason the article claims that the drinking age should remain at 21 is because of the effect alcohol has on people is more severe on a younger person's brain than on an adult's brain. Alcohol has a greater effect on kids brains the younger that they are. The author of this article is Laura Dean-Mooney, who is extremely biased towards keeping the drinking age at the age of 21. She was a part of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving movement and knows a lot about the argument. There was no way to prove that what she was saying is credible but since she was published by U.S. News, she is probably a reliable source.

 The third article I chose is titled, "Lowering the Drinking Age". The article talks about how the law has not worked in stopping teens from drinking just like the prohibition did not stop adults from drinking. It also says that the drinking age being at 21 has caused teens to develop unsafe drinking habits. They binge drink where they cannot get in trouble instead of casually drinking while out with friends. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would also allow parents to teach their kids to drink safely while they are still at home and not at college. The article is on the site, Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The site is a sponsored site that is dedicating itself to fixing the failed war on drugs. The site is run by college professors and executive officials who have all been looking into the argument about the drinking age. 

The argument about the drinking age has been going on since it was changed from 18 to 21. The question is arguable because there are two different sides to the argument. One side thinks that the drinking age should remain at 21 while the other side believes the drinking age should be lowered to 18. The two sides do not agree on much and argue that there are different reasons for each topic that is brought up. One side believes the drinking age being at 21 has caused less drunk driving accidents while one side believes it is because of safer cars and lower speed limits. I think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18 and that 21 is too high. I also think my research topic does not need to be revised. The question about the drinking age is an arguable issue in the United States that needs to be revisited.  

