Drinking is a major and controversial issue without our world today. Some people want drinking to become legal at a higher age of 21, while other people want it to remain at the age of 18. Furthermore, drinking is also the cause of senseless deaths such as drunken driving accidents, and even violent incidents that may have never occurred in the first place. Moreover, it is also important to note that not every state puts the drinking age at 18 years old, just like not every state puts the drinking age at 21 either. This can be a good or bad thing. For example; the drinking age of the United States is now 21. As for California though, it use to be 18, but the problem that stemmed from this was that those who really wanted to drink but could not do so in the United States, would wait until they turned 18 years, and then drive all the way down to California just to get their first alcohol beverage. Regardless, the state of California now has a drinking age of 21, and as for the United States as a whole, I feel like the age limit should not be brought down to a lower level. The reasons being are as follows; when a person is 21 years old, they are seen as more independent than that of an 18 year old which can increase their ability to make better choices. Secondly while some research has shown that those who are 21 years of age do struggle with drinking more than those who are 18, someone who is at the legal current age of drinking can have a better understanding of the consequences of their actions and seek help from there.
While it is true that some people are naturally more mature than others, it is also known that society tends to view people who are 21 years of age as more mature than that of 18 year olds. I stand by this belief as well, and I feel that those who are more independent will be wiser in making the proper decisions as to what is right and what is wrong. The reason behind my belief, is because of the fact that people who are 18 years of age, they are in high school. High school students tend to be more mature than college students in some aspects. For example; when a person is away from college, there seems to be a natural tendency to be more cautious about what one does and what one does not do. In other words, when someone is away from home, they are well aware that they have to be more responsible for themselves in nearly every aspect: how they handle situations such as emotions, homework, time, work schedule, etc. Their parents are not watching what they do, so wiser decisions need to be made in everything.
More importantly though, it is as a fact that underage youth who have drinks actually end up getting drunk faster than those who are 21 and over, because they have a lower tolerance level. As the article on myths vs. realties says in regards to facts about drinking, 96% of youth end up getting drunk when they consume five or more drinks at a time. This supports the notion that someone who drinks at 18 may go all out and not recognize the consequences. However, those who are 21 years of age will have had three years to process how they want to go about drinking, since they were not able to do it at an earlier age in the first place. For reasons such as these, and the fact that was given in the myth vs. fact article, I believe that it is best for the drinking age to be kept at 21 years of age, since people would have more time to process the coming responsibility that they would need to take on. Now one important thing to it is also important to note that the drinking tolerance not only stems from the person’s age, but also how much they are used to drinking as well. Sadly, some people still go overboard in the drinking factor, and because of this, there are consequences to their actions. The two articles that I read have even shown some studies which demonstrate that just because a person is 21 years old, doe s not mean they will not slip up. Moreover, some research studies have actually shown that those who struggle with drinking are mostly 21 years of age as well.
As the myth vs reality article says, some people believe that all people need to do is enforce drinking to the age of 21 and there will be no more problems with drinking. However, this is clearly not the case, and some studies have shown this. As the article about commentary on Fitzpatrick and Colleagues mentions, heavy episodic drinking has become such a problem among college students, that an act called Amethyst Initiative is trying to be set in place that lowers the drinking age. However, the problem with this line of thinking is the fact that if increasing the drinking age limit does not help, than what would lowering the drinking for an 18 year old (someone possibly even more mature) do. In other words, when people drink, the choice of whether or not they want to stop is in their hands, and until a person is 21, I believe that there may be a lack of feeling of full responsibility. The fact of the matter is that whether or not a person is mature of immature at the age of 21, they are more mature than they were when they were younger. People need to learn that there are consequences for their actions. While, this may seem rather harsh, it is important to note that when a person who is 21 years old messes up, it is not the end. They can still seek help, go to rehab, and even talk with friends about their drinking problem. However, in the end, it all comes down to one thing; the choice is up to them.
In closing, I feel that 21 year olds seem to have a better sense of independency than 18 year olds, and for this reason, even if they do not make the right choice, they will have a strong conscience as to why they should or should not do something. And while statistics show that 21 years olds have higher drinking problems, changing the drinking age would not make a difference as to whether or not anyone who is 18 would drink a lot.
Drinking: A Top-Quality Essay For Your Inspiration
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WowEssays. (2023, March, 08) Drinking: A Top-Quality Essay For Your Inspiration. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://www.wowessays.com/free-samples/drinking-a-top-quality-essay-for-your-inspiration/
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Drinking: A Top-Quality Essay For Your Inspiration. Free Essay Examples - WowEssays.com. https://www.wowessays.com/free-samples/drinking-a-top-quality-essay-for-your-inspiration/. Published Mar 08, 2023. Accessed November 22, 2024.
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