Should America Lower the Drinking Age?, 21 to 18? Rating Options

[sweet_devil]

When you think about it, it should almost become higher, but that would cause a bunch of problems, wouldn't it? But, so many young adults abuse the privlege of being able to drink...hmmm...

[sadolakced acid]

It shouldn't be lowered at all. Many people died from drunk driving, right? So what's the point.

drunk drivers are drunk because:

1) they're adults who are alcoholics.

2) they're kids who drank a lot becuase it's illegal.

[x LUV x ALWAYS x]

no. we don't need more drunks

[smile4me]

1) they're adults who are alcoholics.

or they are careless drivers that aren't supposed to drive while drunk.

2) they're kids who drank a lot becuase it's illegal.

just because its illegal doesn't make a kid go and drink. murdering is illegal. but kids dont go around murdering ppl because theyre not supposed to do it.

[edit] i just read another topic...and u were being sarcastic....and....are u being sarcastic here? cuz it kinda sounded like it. im confused..

[sammi rules you]

^ i think he was being serious.

the risk is what makes a lot of kids drink. they think they're cool because they're doing something they're not supposed to do, just like smoking and drugs.

sure, at first, lowering the drinking age would make a bunch of kids run out and buy a bunch of alcohol, but in the long run, doing something you're allowed to do without any hesitation would get boring.

[sadolakced acid]

well, my friends get wasted on beer because it's cool and illegal.

responsibility can only be taught at a young age.

how many kids do you see that missuse sissors?

it's because they learned as little kids how to handle them.

and not, i wasn't being sarcastic... i usually contradict myself if i am.

[MetalChick77]

No i do not think it should be lowered, although like 75% of the teenage population drinks anyways..

[Rikkiismyname]

Sorry for using this word but I'm atheist so it doesn't mean a thing to me to say this:
OH God no. In my mind the drinking age should be raised.Maybe like the age limit should be around i don't know 55. No i'm just kidding but really i think 21 is too young. the Adults who wait all their teenage life to turn 21 just to drink and what not are just wasting a perfectly good life. All the beer and alcohol is going to do is kill you from the inside out.

[PreludeTears]

Yes, Its stupid how they draft you or make it legal for you to
sign up in the army and sent you to die at war at age of 18 but
you cant drink till your 21 because your not old enough? .
thats just how I see it if you dont agree then just say you dont agree
dont go on with aguments because i dont wanna get into one

[sikdragon]

There should be no drinking age. It should be abolished.

capitalism would thrive and it would be up to the parents to instill good values in their children. Irresponsibility comes from being sheltered all their lives and then let loose with all these freedoms and no knowledge of the world.

The reason the law has to step in is because there are no parents anymore.

Dont let our generation fall to the statistics. Get married once.

[XoJennaoX]

There should be no drinking age. It should be abolished.

i agree ... that way all the "hype" that is built up around drinking would slowly fade away.

[not_for_anything]

drinking isnt a sin
getting drunk is a sin

Why at 18 can a person go off to war and get his legs blown off, and kill many more people than a drunk driving accident would kill, yet is deemed to irresponsible to drink...hmm

[Mileep]

I don't think drinking should be lower. The body cannot handle the chemical at a younger age, your body is weak at that point. I think drinking is for the depression, people that have problem like addictiion. Drinking some sort of alcohol is not tasty and not good for the body. I believe drinking should be use for some occasions like big celebration. Alcohol free is the way to be. Why would drinking should be lower? For those unpatiently wannabe?.. No offense. In my opinions.

[crayonzUpMyNose]

well, its not like the drinknig age matters anyway. if they want to drink they will, no matter how old they are

[sammi rules you]

drinking isnt a sin
getting drunk is a sin

Why at 18 can a person go off to war and get his legs blown off, and kill many more people than a drunk driving accident would kill, yet is deemed to irresponsible to drink...hmm

since when is getting drunk a sin?

and fyi, if you're in the military and off in some other country, they allow you to drink if you want to.

[sadolakced acid]

the legal drinking limit on military bases is 18.

[*CrackedRearView*]

I don't think drinking should be lower.  The body cannot handle the chemical at a younger age, your body is weak at that point.  I think drinking is for the depression, people that have problem like addictiion.  Drinking some sort of alcohol is not tasty and not good for the body.  I believe drinking should be use for some occasions like big celebration.  Alcohol free is the way to be.  Why would drinking should be lower?  For those unpatiently wannabe?..  No offense.  In my opinions.

An excellent point.

As well, to those that said it should be abolished and the responsibility should be left up to American parents, think about this clause.

How many responsible American parents do you really think there are?

Definitely not enough to quell the chaos that would be caused if a legal statute concerning no drinking age was ever implemented.

[Paradox of Life]

I don't think drinking should be lower.  The body cannot handle the chemical at a younger age, your body is weak at that point.  I think drinking is for the depression, people that have problem like addictiion.  Drinking some sort of alcohol is not tasty and not good for the body.  I believe drinking should be use for some occasions like big celebration.  Alcohol free is the way to be.  Why would drinking should be lower?  For those unpatiently wannabe?..  No offense.  In my opinions.

Really. If they lower it down to what, 18? What good is that going to do? 18 year olds may not be that responsible enough to handle it and they might go out driving and killing people when they're drunk (incidents would be more common).

I think it's fine the way it is, even though drunk driving is still an issue. People aren't using common sense a lot of times, but I think the older you are, the more experience you have and the lesser chance it is that you're going to "accidentally" kill someone when you're drunk. And you know how young college kids are; they just want to party and they illegally drink as it is. And they go crazy and violate lots of rules. Imagine if they made it legal for them to drink; how many more crimes do you think would we have? Why do you think they made the smoking age 18 and drinking age 21?

[fameONE]

Alcohol does what, exactly?

The point of getting so shitfaced that you vomit and forget who your own family is what, again?

Losing control of your emotions and actions to the point of violence does what good?

Why does alcohol exist.

Answer these questions and then I'll consider even popsing an argument to a topic that shouldn't even exist. I'm not against alcohol, I just believe its rather pointless and causes more harm than good in our society.

[sammi rules you]

^ i agree, but if you're trying to get that it should be outlawed..our country tried that once, and it worked out for the worse.

[Paradox of Life]

Alcohol does what, exactly?

The point of getting so shitfaced that you vomit and forget who your own family is what, again?

Losing control of your emotions and actions to the point of violence does what good?

Why does alcohol exist.

Answer these questions and then I'll consider even popsing an argument to a topic that shouldn't even exist. I'm not against alcohol, I just believe its rather pointless and causes more harm than good in our society.

Alcohol is pointless because all it causes is problems. Same with cigarettes. But all those companies that make them are getting rich from it and if you outlaw alcohol, imagine how many people would lose their jobs. There could be a big crash on the economic system. The same goes for cigarettes. So humans should be using common sense, which a lot of them don't have when it comes to the amount of alcohol they consume or if they want to drive while they're drunk..
Maybe people will be more responsible about how they drink and maybe they won't. Which is a horrible thing to depend on because it could be threatening other innocent peoples' lives. So we want to set a limit to what age we think people will be more wise at.

You can't sit there and complain about "the dangers of alcohol" without doing something about it, but it's not that easy. The greatest alternative is already nearly impossible to achieve. So that's why we at least have an age barrier which is already pushing the limit at 21. If anything, higher it because it seems a lot of 21 year olds now are pretty unwise.

[KELLYYY]

It doesn't matter. People still break the law by drinking when you're not supposed to because you're too young. Like a few friends that i know, they're in the 7th grade and they drink. :\

Well, I think it shouldn't be lowered.

[smile4me]

Yes, Its stupid how they draft you or make it legal for you to
sign up in the army and sent you to die at war at age of 18 but
you cant drink till your 21 because your not old enough?  .
thats just how I see it if you dont agree then just say you dont agree
dont go on with aguments because i dont wanna get into one 

thats two different topics - theyre not related.
when youre 18, youre physically fit to fight in a war. otherwise, they wouldn't draft you. at 18, your mind is not capable of making decisions after drinking, so the drinking age is 21.

[fameONE]

Alcohol is pointless because all it causes is problems. Same with cigarettes. But all those companies that make them are getting rich from it and if you outlaw alcohol, imagine how many people would lose their jobs. There could be a big crash on the economic system. The same goes for cigarettes. So humans should be using common sense, which a lot of them don't have when it comes to the amount of alcohol they consume or if they want to drive while they're drunk..
Maybe people will be more responsible about how they drink and maybe they won't. Which is a horrible thing to depend on because it could be threatening other innocent peoples' lives. So we want to set a limit to what age we think people will be more wise at.

You can't sit there and complain about "the dangers of alcohol" without doing something about it, but it's not that easy. The greatest alternative is already nearly impossible to achieve. So that's why we at least have an age barrier which is already pushing the limit at 21. If anything, higher it because it seems a lot of 21 year olds now are pretty unwise.

Agreed.

But tobacco and alcohol aren't even in the same ballpark. Nicotine is a sugar overdose compared to alcohol.

I like cigars, though.

[sadolakced acid]

my friends get wasted on beer every weekend.

`cus it's cool.

and it's cool, cus it's illegal.

that's what they say.

if it were legal, they'd probably still drink. just not as much.