Did you know that the states of our country were actually bullied into lowering the drinking age? That’s right, Congress told the states that if they did not raise the minimum drinking age to 21, they would be cut off from federal highway funding. Of course, the states made the decision to lower their drinking ages because they did not want to have to deal with lawmakers or groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It seemed like a fair compromise that would not cause problems, but over the years many problems have arisen.
One of the worst problems of the prohibition of alcohol is that it leads to the underage population to take part in excessive drinking. This can mean getting so trashed that an individual needs medical attention. It is easy to get to this point of drunkenness on college campuses because alcohol is open for anyone at parties, including those that are underage. So what do you do when one of your friends gets to the point where they need medical attention? I am sure that you want to call 911 for them to get help, but in the back of your mind you are probably thinking, “My friend and I have both been drinking, and we are both underage, so that means that we will definitely get in trouble with the police.” This thought usually causes the person that needs help not to get help, which could lead to their death! However, if the drinking age were still 18, this individual would not have felt the need to partake in the excessive drinking of alcohol. Drinking alcohol would be seen as a social thing, and the consequence of death would not be so prevalent.
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ReplyDeleteThis subject is very important in todays world. Your example about the two underage kids needing help was perfect! These situations happen all the time and it is sad to hear the outcomes of these stories. When an underage drinker knows that another underage drinker needs help, they don't want to risk getting into trouble. They also know that the could get everyone else who is underage at the party and the providers of the alcohol in major trouble as well. If the drinking age were 18, the these people wouldn't feel scared or hesitant to call for help.
ReplyDeleteMy point exactly. (: Also, to further this subject, if the age were lowered, problems like this would be less likely to happen. Teenagers would not always feel the urge to try and drink as much alcohol as they possibly can. Then again if they did, they would be able to call for help because their actions would not be deemed illegal.
ReplyDeleteParents would also be able to educate their kids on an approach to safer drinking methods. This would help their kids to become more responsible with their actions if and when they choose to drink alcohol. It is obvious that lowering the drinking age would save many lives.