In the early 1970s, twenty-eight states in the United States lowered the drinking age to eighteen, but after significant increases in road crashes and alcohol-related problems, the age was raised to twenty-one in all states by the mid-1980s. When the minimum age for drinking alcoholic beverages was raised, it caused an explosion among people between the ages of eighteen and twenty. Since that law was passed, teenagers have become dedicated to finding a way to have the legal drinking age lowered back to the age of eighteen. Teens argue that if they are old enough to vote, to marry without parental consent, to be held legally liable for a crime, or to go into war and die for their country, then they are old enough and mature enough to buy a six-pack and handle the consumption of its contents. For each argument listed, an argument stands against it, which will make perfectly clear that the legal drinking age should not be lowered.
The first argument that teenagers have against the drinking age being twenty-one is their enrollment for the draft. They believe that if they are able to go to war and die for their country, then they should be able to buy a six-pack. The argument against this is a simple one: if our country is in such a dire situation to be drafting people, then they do not need to be drinking when they are overseas fighting for our country. .
The next arguments that many teenagers present against the drinking age are that they are old enough to vote, old enough marry without parental consent, and old enough to be held legally liable. They believe that if they are considered old enough to handle these responsibilities, then they should be permitted to legally drink alcoholic beverages. However, drinking is a problem that can prevent one from voting, cause the dissolution of one's marriage, or greatly add to problems if one is sued. According to Chad's statistics web site, people between the ages of eighteen and twenty vote the least out of the national population.
