The Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered Essay example -- MLDA, Underag

We knocked on the door of the off-campus apartment, as it opened we were confronted with the heavy stench of alcohol. A young girl was passed out on the living room floor, a pile of empty beer cans filled the kitchen sink, and the deafening music sound the window panes. A group of girls managed to stumble past us. They waved goodbye to the host, who was handing drinks to me and my child. It was not my first duration inebriety. In fact, everyone there was quite experienced aft(prenominal) all, its college. Half of the guests were completely drunk, and I had no problem with it. That is, until later(prenominal) that night when my sister locked herself in a room with a goofball she had met only a week before. This prompted me to seriously consider the effects of alcohol. Would my sister have been able to see the danger of the situation had she been sober? Would the absence of alcohol have prevented the events of that night from occurring? These questions, along with the vivid memory of that night, render my examination of the complex social problem of netherage drinking. In the 1960s, the drinking age was set as 21, to match the voting age. However, around the time of the Vietnam War, the public began to argue that if an 18-year-old was old enough to fight and die for his country, accordingly he should be able to vote as well. As a result, the voting age was lowered to 18. Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their heavy drinking age as well. In the words of Carla Main, author of Bulldozed and unhomogeneous other published works concerning law and society, the results were catastrophic, as highway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed (Main 33). many a(prenominal) states began raising the legal drinking age up again. In 1984, under the supervision of Ronald ... ...hus, focus should be on better enforcing the law, rather than amending it. full treatment CitedDeJong, William. Should the inebriation Age Be Lowered to 18? No. Ameri can Teacher 93.3 (2008) 3. Wilson OmniFile ample Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.Main, Carla T. Underage Drinking and the Drinking Age. Policy Review. June/July 2009 33-46. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.Martinez, Julia A., Miguel A. Munoz Garcia, and Kenneth J. Sher. A New stripped-down Legal Drinking Age (MLDA)? Some Findings to Inform the Debate. Addictive Behaviors 34.4 (2009) 407-10. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth. Seeking a Drinking Age Debate. University credit line 11.10 (2008) 53-4. Academic await Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. The 21 Club. Economist 392.8645 (2009) 26. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2010.