       Whether the drinking age in America should be lowered to eighteen years old or remain at twenty-one years old is a controversial topic discussed heavily among the citizens of America. People can argue this topic for various reasons in regards to the benefits and negative consequences about the subject. However, the more significant matter are the numerous reasons as to why it should actually be lowered. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the law makers will argue that it prevents motor vehicle fatalities every year. Yet, there could be so many positive outcomes that would result from lowering the drinking age that light needs to be shed on. With that being stated, the positive effects are more often than not overshadowed by the negativity surrounding the controversy. Today’s generation is blinded by binge drinking, partying, and getting hammered. The children raised in the twentieth century were never taught how to simply have a drink to relax. Because of this, alcohol has been heavily abused, resulting in accidents that could have been prevented. In today’s society, minors believe the “cool” thing to do is to get “blackout drunk” and party without acknowledging the harmful effects of alcohol. However, there is hope for a change. People who are now in their late teenage years, early twenties, and what is known to be “Generation X” can be the ones to demonstrate to rising adolescents that immense alcohol consumption and immature partying is not at all what it’s “cracked up” to be. The act of consuming alcohol at a young age needs to be focused on and taken more seriously. As citizens of the United States, people cannot pretend that underage drinking does not exist. People need to be aware that it will happen regardless of any law. At a young and immature age, “breaking the rules” is unfortunately a common thing to do. Instead of maintaining a law that is broken regardless and leads to reckless behavior, lawmakers should weigh out the pros and cons of lowering the drinking age and ultimately, make a decision that is in the best interest of America’s fellow citizens – lowering the legal age of alcohol consumption to eighteen years old. 

Adam Macdonald is a gifted public speaker who shared his story via Ted Talk to elaborate and further spark the conversation of lowering the drinking age. He began his speech by explaining to the audience that at age eighteen, he was once a very socially awkward person and someone who was not able to hold conversations with people. His friends would constantly attempt to make an effort to help by asking Adam to go out to bars and have a drink with them. Adam finally agreed to go out. After he had consumed a couple of drinks, he felt open and he was able to speak his mind naturally - without hesitation, awkwardness, or shyness.  With this being stated, Adam made it clear to his audience that he did not need to get belligerent or sloppily intoxicated. He simply felt relaxed and at ease. Adam soon became a bartender and grew to love his job. He thoroughly enjoys the daily and nightly social interactions he encounters. All it took was a little “push” to help Adam break out of his shell. Currently, he meets new people every day and is still bartending. The main argument this source portrays is that Alex became more of a socially open person, someone who was able to come out of his comfort zone and experience new things that he had never been able to do before because of a causal consumption of alcohol. When the drinking age was eighteen, like in Alex’s story, it was not looked at as a law that permitted young people to get drunk, hammered, and reckless. It was just a regular law that allowed young friends to have a fun, safe night and to be social in a bar atmosphere. The law enabled shy people, such as Alex, to break out of their shells and have an enjoyable time and a well spent evening. When the drinking age was set to twenty-one, the social aspect of drinking at the age of eighteen was in result, torn away.  Even though the law was raised to twenty-one, “underage kids were still going to find a way to get their hands on alcohol, making it even more dangerous” (Macdonald).

       In 1980, the law was passed in all fifty states to lower the drinking age. Initially, it was first intended to reduce the amount of annual motor vehicle fatalities. At the time, this solution worked and the number of fatalities in car crashes decreased. Not only did lowering the drinking age have an effect on the decrease in fatal car crashes, the stricter laws that were being enforced on seatbelts and DUI’s had a significant effect as well. Raising the drinking age did not put an end to underage drinking. All it did was make it so that it was more of a hidden activity, or “underground.” For example, in 1920 through 1933, when alcohol was banned in the United States, people turned to speakeasies and blind pigs. The goal was to get as drunk as possible before the police showed up. This same mindset of binge drinking before authorities come to crash the party happens all the time on college campuses and different social events (Carpenter). The youth of today’s generation will drink as much as possible before they go to the event so they will not get caught by the police. This can be extremely dangerous and can even result in death. 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 deaths among 18 to 24 year olds nearly tripled increasing from 779 to 2,290 (Glaser). 

Growing up a certain way, in regards to how lenient your parents are, can have a big impact on your outlook on alcohol laws. I grew up in an Italian family and my parents always taught my brother and me to drink responsibly. Yet, alcohol has gotten me in trouble one too many times. I was never blacked out nor was I obnoxious when I was in trouble. I was just simply caught with a beer in my hand and it changed my future significantly. Because I was a minor, I got kicked out of school and had to transfer. It put a lot of stress on my family and especially on me. It all could have been prevented if the legal drinking age was eighteen. My dad always believed in teaching us how to drink in moderation when we were young. His goal was to teach us to respect alcohol and not to abuse it. Whenever we would gather as a family, he would always ask if I wanted a sip of his drink. Being so young, I couldn't stand the taste and he would always just laugh and say, “Good, keep it that way.” As I grew older, I never realized how different each family’s rules were. Going out and being with different groups of people severely changed my outlook and perspective. Every time my friends and I were trying to get alcohol, it was such a big ordeal to them. They would call people over and over again looking to get alcohol. For me, it was just a regularity. I didn’t mind if we got it or not. No matter the outcome, I would always be the one taking care of everyone. My friends would get extremely intoxicated and lose control. The consequences were never good. Being around a family that never abused alcohol and always drank responsibly showed me that it was just a way to socialize and to have a good time. Parents and lawmakers expect kids to just turn twenty one and drink responsibly right away. Drinking responsibly needs to be taught. Kids are not just going to turn twenty one and immediately start drinking responsibly. It’s just like learning how to drive a car. Before you can drive a car, you must get a permit and you are taught the correct way to drive (Glaser). Kids need to be educated about drinking and the risks that come along with it. Turning twenty one and suddenly being able to drink can be dangerous if you have never experienced it.

       In the world today, so many aspects of life are constantly changing and becoming normalized. Marijuana is becoming legal in different states and the Supreme Court isn’t doing anything about the drinking age. People used to think marijuana was such a bad thing so it was banned without any question. Now that it is becoming legalized in different states, it shows that change is possible. Changing the drinking law to decrease car fatalities helped at the time. However, the seat belt and DUI laws being heavily enforced has made an even larger impact. The legalization of marijuana has made things safer and reduced violence and crime, allowing people to ponder what would happen if the drinking age was lowered. Statistics show that motor vehicle crashes are mainly caused because of careless phone usage and prescription pills (Pagllia).  

Binge drinking and its effects are being highlighted across the United States due to the increasing amount of underage college students who are being hospitalized from any alcohol related accident- whether it be a minor injury or fatality. Jawaid Rasul illustrates the significance of binge drinking on college campuses in his popular article, "Heavy Episodic Drinking On College Campuses: Does Changing The Legal Drinking Age Make a Difference?".  The article uses Schribner’s model regarding college drinking and revises it into its own mathematical model. The author, Rasul, compares the consequences of lowering the legal drinking age by utilizing data collected from thirty two different campuses across the nation. The experimental model involved two different groups. One of the groups included underage people and the other group were people of the legal age limit. The groups were broken apart and given a various amount of alcohol. This allowed the results to distinguish which of the two groups drank in a more responsible, mature, and safe manner. The results proved that the underage students believed in a “normal” drinking amount to be significantly higher than an actual normal amount. The legal aged students were able to grasp a much more realistic amount of what is considered to be a normal drinking amount.  This model is a perfect example for how “important it is to have prior experience when it comes time to drinking” (Rasul). Drinking alcohol in responsible manner is something that can solely be learned through experience. With a lowered legal drinking age, it would be much easier for these young adults to get the safe controlled experiences that they need. Even though the underage drinkers did believe they were drinking more, Rasul should have analyzed the people each person was associating themselves with and the atmosphere. If you and the others are drinking at the house and having a good time, you may tend to drink more and still be relaxed. But if you are out with people at a bar or a club, the atmosphere could play a big role on how one acts even if they do not drink as much.

Technology today can have an impact on lowering the drinking age. Uber and Lyft play a considerable role in this topic. If having the drinking age at twenty-one was to help decrease the amount of deaths by drunk driving, then this problem can easily be fixed by Uber or Lyft. It provides a safe and easy way to get home after a long night. Providing safe alternatives for kids and parents to get home without harming anyone or themselves should be a significant reason as to why the drinking age should be lowered (Chris). Because these safe options are available, eighteen year olds should not be denied from being able to walk into a bar and have a beer. 

A variety of countries around the world have different drinking ages and various drinking cultures. Why are some so many legal age limits younger than the others, yet most people that have the drinking age older have more problems that are associated with drinking? I wonder why only twelve countries out of one hundred ninety have the drinking age at twenty-one. While researching this particular subject, I found that “nineteen countries don't even have a drinking age, two countries have the drinking age at ten through fifteen, twenty-one countries have the drinking age at sixteen through seventeen, one hundred fifteen countries have the drinking age at eighteen through nineteen, five countries have the drinking age at ten, and of course only twelve countries have the drinking age at twenty-one (Minimum). In the country of Europe, for example, kids are taught from a significantly young age to begin drinking responsibly. Many European countries do not even have restrictions when it comes to the drinking age. Kids begin to learn from such a young age. They’re able to have a glass of wine, drink a beer, or sip on some liquor. In the United States, it is essentially a race to minors to see who can get drunk the fastest. The US needs to focus on teaching these minors to drink responsibly. Turning twenty one is compared to being handed a gun for the first time and then told to shoot it. If that study took place, there would be multiple accidents. When you turn twenty one and then you are legally able to drink, accidents are inevitable if you aren’t taught responsibility beforehand. 

Being knowledgeable about the different laws of other countries is important because it fuels a passion to fight the federal law in here in America. Americans have the right to decide who runs our country at the age of eighteen. Why can they be drafted and fight for our country and risk their lives at the age of eighteen? Why can they become a parent, become a legal father, and care for another human being? Yet, an eighteen-year-old in America cannot enjoy a beer with friends (Toomey).

The highly controversial subject of lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen years old in the United States is a matter that should not be taken lightly. There are serious consequences from underage drinking that result from binge drinking and a swayed view of reality in regards to how much is a “normal” amount of alcohol to consume in one sitting (Wagenaar). Generation X was raised to be the “party” generation and with that label, came fatalities and accidents that could have been avoided with the proper raised mindset of drinking, alcohol education, and realistic federal laws. If the laws made by our government are going to be broken, abused and made out to be a joke, should those laws not changed or revised? If the drinking age was lowered once again, the positive impact it would have on this country and its youth would be one without comparison. Instead of teaching this rising generation to hide, steal, or abuse alcohol when cops or parents are not aware, the government should allow the people to teach America’s youth how to drink in moderation. A newly revised law of lowering the drinking age would not only result in a better present day, but a better future for our beloved country. 
