Eighteen-year-olds are granted the freedoms of purchasing cigarettes and porn, voting in elections and enlisting in the military. But what if the opportunity to lower the drinking age to 18 presented itself?
President and executive director of the National Youth Rights Association Alex Koronkay-Palicz feels that someday this may be possible. The group, which is currently rallying supporters, believes that the United States needs to take an example from Europe, where the legal drinking age ranges from 15 to 20 or doesn't exist at all. The group also acknowledges that although drunk driving would not end overnight, it would promote a new generation of responsibility among drinkers.
Counter-arguments of organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which supports a drinking age of 21, worry that lowering the age will increase drunk driving among young adults. While we don't know if this would be true or not, we think it is possible.
The Eagle believes that lowering the age to 18 would not necessarily be a bad thing, but we do not see any crucial and beneficial changes that would occur. We are also not convinced that advocacy groups like NYRA can transform America's drinking culture to a European way of thinking - young Americans are involved in a different drinking culture than European youths, and no new law will change that.
Those who argue that 21 is an arbitrary age must consider that 21 is a more logical age to give people more freedom. They have grown physically and mentally, are near to finishing or are out of college, are in the work force and are expected to contribute to society as much as anyone else.
However, we believe that American youths are already obsessed with rebelling against the rules at a young age. Simply waiting to turn 21 for a drop of alcohol doesn't happen very often. Many of us are familiar with scenes, largely from high school, of drunken classmates and fake IDs. Alcohol is interwined into our culture and the minds of young adults as a means to risk-taking and adventure. Alcohol can be obtained at any age, and while it is possible that lowering the drinking age to 18 may lessen binge drinking, there are also possible negative outcomes and a lot of uncertainty.
