Does the higher drinking age in America benefit me in
opposition to the lower drinking age in Europe?
Everyone knows someone who can get them alcohol. Whether
they are of age and the bartender is their provider, or a fake ID tricks the
liquor store clerk to sell it to them. Alcohol is easier to get in the United
States than finding a perfect pair of jeans, or a teacher who works hard to
help you. The ease behind the consumption of an illegal item for many who posses
it makes you wonder, why do we continue with the higher drinking age? The other
evening I overheard others in the hallways discussing drinking and fake ID’s.
This made me start to consider the drinking age and how it directly benefits or
hurts me, and my surroundings. While starting to look into the topic to find
questions that would later lead to a focusing question, I found myself
stumbling upon papers I would get lost in about the way the drinking age
protects us from fatal crashes and touching very little on the comparison to
Europe. I looked into statistics on fatal crashes as well as DUI’s and other
alcohol related problems, only to find America having much more severe of
issues with binge drinking and alcohol related deaths. Seeing as I have
experienced a loss of a dear friend due to an accident involving alcohol, I
feel as though this topic is an example of a law needing to be explored deeper.
I began with the thought of us having a higher drinking age would keep us all
safe from alcohol related accidents. I now think that I the lower drinking age
makes kids able to understand the risks of binge drinking and the delicacy of a
fine glass of wine. While overall America has many more fatal incidents with
either binge drinking or alcohol related accidents, most of these occur before
the victim is of the legal age. Discovering the effects of alcohol at an
earlier age with a family surrounding may lead to a safer way of drinking in
early adulthood.
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