18...Old Enough for the Bars?

Recently in the news there has been a lot of talk about potentially lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 years old. Everyone has a unique view as to whether or not the age to legally drink should be lowered, should be raised, or should remain where it is. What do you think?

I believe the drinking age should not be lowered for a variety of reasons. The current drinking age limit may seem arbitrary but if you think about it, it matches well with maturity levels. At 21 you are usually a sophomore or junior in college. At this age, you have grown up a lot. You are beyond the rebellion of being away from home for the first time, living with 50 other people your age, doing things that make you "older", trying to fit in, and relying on your parents for all your money. You have (or we hope you have) become more mature, responsible, and intelligent after experiencing a year or two of college and independent life. At this age you are an adult that can make better decisions. Yes, at 18 you are an "adult" because you can vote, drive, join the army, or sign up for a credit card, but you are also just finishing high school, have lived off your parents all your life and think you know everything about life. Does all of this really qualify you as an adult? I don't think adult comes with an age per say. The title comes along with a certain level of maturity and most people at 18 do not have the maturity level of an "adult". At 18 you are more mature than you were at 16 but that is probably not mature enough to be responsible with alcohol. Could you imagine yourself legally drinking at a bar at the age of 18? How responsible where you then? If you are over 21, how would you feel about 18 year olds hanging out at the bars you visit regularly?

If the drinking age was lowered to 18 obviously younger individuals could be drinking more. Many people argue that if the age were lowered, there would be less underage drinking because there would be less of a temptation since drinking would not be rebellious or illegal. If the drinking age was lowered I believe that underage drinking would still occur but now at an even younger age. Just because the limit is lowered what would keep even younger individuals from testing the boundaries or being tempted? There will be underage drinking no matter what age is set as the limit because people are curious, rebellious, etc. Who wants to see a 16 year old drinking and then getting into a car for the first time?

Other argue that by lowering the drinking age, drinking would just become more normalized throughout all ages of society that less underage drinking would occur. To justify these arguments people cite examples from other countries where drinking ages are lower than the U.S. and it is assumed that less underage drinking occurs. I think that in countries were drinking ages are lower do not necessarily find less underage drinking. I believe the numbers from one country to another are the same. Drinking responsibly is not normalized by allowing more or younger people to drink, but instead by the perceptions people have of alcohol. I think that underage drinking may be more of a problem in countries, like the US, where individuals have more disposable income that can be spent on superfluous things such as alcohol. A poverty stricken town in Liberia will probably face less underage drinking issues than a suburb of Boston because the Liberians are too concerned with having enough resources to feed their population.

Still others argue that if the drinking age was lowered, younger individuals could be introduced to alcohol in a more non threatening environment such as in their own home with parents. How many parents really sit their kids down and talk to them about "the birds and the bees"? Not many, they rely on the education you get through school, friends, and life in general. So why would the situation be any different with alcohol? In this argument to lower the legal age, people are trying to pass off more responsibility to parents from society as a whole and the individual them self. Responsible drinking is a personal decision that is not taught like a driving course or controlled by a parent grounding their child. Would you have listened to your parents at that age? Once again by lowering the drinking and having parents "teach" their kids more responsible drinking, what keeps even younger individuals from underage drinking?

I try see topics from all angles before I make my own opinion because assumptions and judgements are not fair. In this situation I am continuing to understand a variety of opinions but ultimately have not found sound reason to lower the drinking age. If you have one please let me know.