The cons of lowering the drinking age
The drinking age should not be lowered to 18 for anyone that is considered to be a legal adult.
It is true that 18 means you can vote, but just because someone has a number above 17 as their age does not mean they are responsible enough to drink.
As I have witnessed my own friends drink before they turned 21, and the things they did while they were drunk proves me right. In one incident that I was not involved in, where my friend got intoxicated to the point where he, his girlfriend and another two friends of mine all piled into one car and drove to Del Taco while my friend was in nothing but his boxers. The friend driving the car was drunk as well.
Drinking and driving is not a smart idea and that’s common knowledge with drunk driving accidents that have happened all over America.
Many people seem to agree with me, including Dan Hernandez, 32. Hernandez believes certain responsibilities that come with drinking haven’t been learned by age 18.
I do agree that once you turn 21, the peer pressure to drink is practically gone, but when someone is 18 and still in high school, they the are more likely to be pressured into doing it.
Nicole Ozborn, 24, claims she does not like drinking in general for her own reasons.
“More people are starting to drink and get drunk and can wind up hurting themselves,”Ozborn said.
I definitely agree with Ozborn considering my friends were lucky they did not crash or injure themselves the night that they decided to drink and drive.
However, thee are some that disagree, like Andre Etkin, 30, a Marine Corp. veteran.
“If you are old enough to defend this country, then you are old enough to drink a beer,” Etkin said.
I can see from Etkin’s point of view why it might not seem unfair. Instead of being unfair, we can make veterans of our country separate from civilians. I feel, the rules of drinking should not apply to those serving our country and defending our freedom.
I am talking about people who do not put their lives on the line and fight for our country. I am talking about people who have no military history or background and just go and party.
I asked some other veterans what they think and James St. Onge, 28, said, “People who are 18 are just not responsible enough.”
Casey Matuz, 26, agreed that most young people are not responsible enough to drink; in fact, he believes the drinking age should be raised.
“People who are within the age range of 21 to 26 are getting DUIs,” Matuz said.
I think the drinking age should stay the same, but I do agree with Etkin about military personnel. The drinking age of 21 and over should only apply to people who are not veterans or who are not currently serving the U.S. military. These rules should only apply to civilians who just go out and party.