Legal Age Of Drinking Alcohol In the United States Should Be LoweredGeneral Purpose: To persuade the viewers.Specific Purpose: To persuade the viewers that the legal age of drinking alchol in the Unites States should be lowered from 21 to 18.Central Idea: Lowering the legal age of drinking alcohol in the United States will help decrease the number of minors getting into trouble.
INTRODUCTIONDid you know that the United States tops the list when it comes to the age limit of drinking alcohol? Consequently, from the other parts of the world, the legal age for the sale and purchase of alcohol is 18. Regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, etc. they become socially responsible for themselves once they reach that certain age in their lives. According to a recent survey that I have conducted in my class, 90% of the students have responded that they have consumed alcohol prior the legal drinking age of 21(Survey).
With these rules, a lot of minors, specifically teenagers raging from ages 14 – 19, become more curious and try to do everything they can to get a hold of a small bottle of alcohol. From the recent survey that I have conducted, 40% said that they have used false ID in order to obtain alcohol, 30% operated an automobile while under the influence of alcohol while still under the age limit, and 55% of them had been witnesses or have witnessed an accident by an underaged driver.(Survey) This can be very demeaning in terms of morality, and even honesty to their parents. These kids become more and more challenged into the possibility of getting themselves something prohibited of them at this particular age of their lives.
I, myself, have experienced the same dilemma when it comes to the drinking age of alcohol. For the longest time, I have had an unstoppable volition to go and taste this constituted drink that people around me have been frequently using and have been talking about. Since this has been affecting all teenagers from all over the United States and all over the world, I have decided to share with you my thoughts and feelings about this matter. As I was browsing through the channels of our television, I saw in one of those news channels that in most of the other countries, the minimum legal age for drinking is 18; while other countries may even have a lower minimum drinking age.
This paper pleads to you, my dear viewers, to help me and convince those in authority to lower down the minimum age limit of drinking alcohol from the age of 21 to 18. I also believe that this would not only be beneficial to the country, but to the whole world as well.Since a teenager becomes an adult when he reaches the age of 18, then it is just but necessary to lower down the legal age of alcohol drinking. As we all know, permission and drinking of alcoholic beverages is a right of every American, for that matter.
According to Mr. John Cardell, President Emeritus of Middlebury College, “it is unsuitable to make 21 the legal age of drinking for it creates more problems than solutions.” He also stated that unsupervised and unknown drinking of minors could lead to higher risks and problems (Cardell. http://www2.
potsdam.edu/hansondj/InTheNews/UnderageDrinking/20070322122957.html)In this regard, I plea to the the body, that the legal age of drinking in the United States be lowered from the adult age of 21 to the 18.Transition Statement: Consequently, this alteration would definitely promote more awareness and become eyeopeners for adults, teens and children, alike.
BODYTeenagers, aged 21 and below, are still drinking alcohol regardless of the minimum legal age imposed by the government with regards to the age of alcohol intake.A) Take for example, those in military and government service.Some of them start out when they turn 18. They work hard and even put their lives at stake defending their country, but sad to say, are not permitted to drink alcoholic beverages.
This may sound very unfair for them, since in other countries, when you become a legal citizen of your county, you are also given the privelages that normal citizens of a country have.B) According to Staff Sgt. Edwin Serenaduque, an american Seargeant stationed in Japan and consequently is a non-drinker, in Japan and in Korea, citizens there are priviledged to drink liquor and alcohol starting from the legal age of 18. But those americans stationed at the countries mentioned, would still have to abide by the laws stipulated by the United States.
It is disappointing to know that these soldiers are treated as adults when defending their country, but are treated as children when it comes to certain privilages. According to my survey, 50% of the total population feel that consuming alcohol prior to the minimum legal age of 21 is simply not fair primarily because as adults, they can be legally married at 18, have and raise their own children, own a gun, go to war, smoke cigarettes. They can even drive their own cars at the tender age of 16.C) You, my dear audience, are not excempted from this issue.
All of us, even at some point in our lives, face this kind of dilemma. Instead of having a positive outlook in life of not drinking, they, or us for that matter, are easily challenged by the fact that it is challenging to sneak and buy some alcohol. Others were even driven to hold underground drinking sessions with friends; the continuity of which depends on how long they can keep it to themselves. Correct me if I am wrong, but these could potentially lead to destruction of properties, date rape, group wars, and even to death.
Transition Statement: This circumstances are happening around us, some even are not known. Sad, but true.According to , Dr. Ruth Clifford Engs, an alcohol researcher and an internationally-known of health educator from Indiana University, the minimum legal age of 21 for drinking alcoholic beverages is relatively high from that of the other countries (http://www2.
potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html). From the survey conducted, 75% of the total respondents have said that they would prefer to have the minimum drinking age lowered to the age of 18.
One of the respondents said, “I think that it should be lowered because once you are legally able to drink, it takes half the fun out of it, so people will not do it so often as they do now.” (Survey) Trying to stop these people from buying, or controlling them for that matter, does not necessarily mean that they will not drink alcoholic beverages. Having 21 as its minimum legal age of drinking can be accounted for as a social experiment that can be more detrimental to society rather than helpful.Transition Statement: Although pleads of lowering down the legal age may be quite impossible for some to believe, there is still a solution to this dilemma.
Prohibiting minors to drink alcohol is very close to impossible. In order to resolve this problem, certain rules should be imposed when the limit is lowered to 18 namely:A) All those americans, age 18 years old and above should be duly registered as citizens of the United States. Upon receiving their driver’s licenses, they should be given a permit for them to buy and drink alcoholic beverages. Second, there should be a limit as to the number of alcoholic beverages to be purchased per day.
When buying alcoholic beverages, the liquor permit should be accompanied by a valid ID, where their birthdates are seen. Lastly, there should be a curfew imposed as up to what specific time these people could buy liquor.B) Imposing such laws would also open the minds of the people, both the young and the old, that too much consumption of this very habitual vice could lead to a lot of diseases, one of which is liver cirrhosis. This liver disease replaces the liver tissue with a scar and is often due to excessive alcohol intake of the body.
C) Although these may sound detailed when imposed, one must always take into consideration the fact that the prevalence of peace and harmony in our country is our primary concern. Of course, there is a big possibility that a lot of people, especially those in authority, would go out of their way to stop this proposition. But with everyone’s help, it is but fitting to bestow on everyone this legality.Visualize the FutureA) With everything that has been said, I cetainly believe that lowering down the age limit for sale and drinking of alcohol from 21 to 18 would be beneficial to all.
The imposition of the said “permit to buy alcohol”, would help us to avoid teenagers and students alike from causing trouble and rebelling against their elders’ will.Closing ThoughtA) As students, it is our obligation to be good citizens of this country. Imposing such change would not just help us become more responsible, but it would also help us to become more aware of the things that happen around us and in the whole world. Helping out, not just ourselves but everyone else, could be a big step in the moral upheaval of our country.
Some may not abide the rules out of curiosity, while some try to do it for the challenge that they can do it. But regardless of that, we should always be open to new and exciting ideas that would eventually help us grow into the best people that we can possible be. Certain things are definitely in need of change at some point in time, irrespective of whether or not this has been followed for a lot of time already or not. We should also remember that life is more meaningful when we can adapt to those changes and become better people.
As Mr. Frank Herbert, a critically aclaimed author would say, “Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.”Works Cited:Hanson, David J.
(N.D.). What about the drinking age: Responses to arguments against the minimum legal drinking age.
Alcohol Problems and Solutions. Retrieved December 15, 2007 from http://www2.potsdam.edu.
;Lower Minimum the Legal Drinking Age to 18, Says College President Emeritus. Alcohol Problems and Solutions. Retrieved December 15, 2007 from http://www2.potsdam.
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