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arguments about lowering the drinking age
arguments about lowering the drinking age
pros of lower drinking age
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Since the states increased their drinking age to 21 in 1987, every citizen of this country between the ages of 18 and 20 have been oppressed by the very people elected to power to protect their rights. It is evident that the legal drinking age among Americans should be lowered to the legal age of adulthood, 18 years. At this age, any American can marry without their Parent’s approval and can move out of their guardian’s house and live on their own. Why are these adults deprived of their right to consume alcohol? A police officer unexpectedly arrived at a party where many young adults were drinking alcoholic beverages. He asked to see two young gentlemen’s identification to prove that they were of legal age to be consuming. Both were respectable citizens. Neither had caused a disturbance or been involved in any trouble. They both were voters, they were peaceful and respectful, they were both registered for the selective services, as every 18-year-old man is required to do, and both paid their taxes. However, since one of the men was only 20 years of age, he was issued a citation that cost him over one hundred and seventy five dollars and he lost his privileges to drive a car for an entire year. The other, who was 21, was of course allowed to continue on without further interferences. The issue presented in this scenario is a very serious problem today and threatens the very liberties that make this country so exemplary. There may not be one credible or plausible reason why this age group is lawfully bound from having a beer after graduation or a glass of champagne on their wedding day, yet everyday more and more Americans are arrested or cited for practicing what should be a legal prerogative. Many young adults face these extreme injustices on an account of this unwarranted restriction that so unjustly harasses them.
There is a simple and agreeable solution to this matter. The government should revise the law back to what it was years ago. Most states in the 1970’s had a legal drinking age of 18, 19, or 20, the majority of those being 18 years of age. According to Daniel N. Allen, M.A., David G. Sprenkel, M.A., and Patrick A. Vitale, Ph. D., changing the age limit for one to consume alcohol in the eighties was a failure in its mission to control drinking and lower deaths from alcohol related automobile accidents. Statistics hav...
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... and to preserve our meticulous way of life. When the government is not protecting the rights of its citizens, reform is most definitely required and so it is needed here. The United States is the only country with a minimum drinking age above 20. It is the highest and most absurd of any state in the world. Our free country just does not seem so free if its people cannot partake in something as simple as a glass of wine with their dinner. It is time for the American community to regain and to keep hold of their much-deserved rights.
Works Cited
Allen, D. N., Sprenkel, D. G., and Vitale, P. A. “Reactance Theory and Alcohol Consumption Laws: Further Confirmation Among Collegiate Alcohol Consumers.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol 55 (1994): 34-40.
Hanson, David J., Ph. D. “The Legal Drinking Age: Science or Ideology.” Alcohol: Problems and Solutions. 8 Nov. 2001. <http://www.student.potsdam.edu/alcohol-info/ InMyOpinion/ScienceIdeology.html>.
---, “The United States of America.” International Handbook on Alcohol and Culture. Ed. Dwight B. Heath. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. 300-315.
“I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of the hunger for life that gnaws in us all, to keep alive in our hearts a sense of the inexpressibly human.” (Richard Wright) In 1945 an intelligent black boy named Richard Wright made the brave decision to write and publish an autobiography illustrating the struggles, trials, and tribulations of being a Negro in the Jim Crow South. Ever since Wright wrote about his life in Black Boy many African American writers have been influenced by Wright to do the same. Wright found the motivation and inspiration to write Black Boy through the relationships he had with his family and friends, the influence of folk art and famous authors of the early 1900s, and mistreatment of blacks in the South and uncomfortable racial barriers.
Strong women can be sad, angry, and emotional. Characters should not be written off as weak if they display these characteristics. This proposition is not even exclusive to women, everyone has faults and makes mistakes. Perhaps it is in arguing this ideology that Alsop is least successful. Though she may mean to give off a satirical undertone through her title, it could discourage people from ever reading the article. Additionally, as Alsop describes what traditionally are viewed as strong traits, she dismisses them as ideals that women should not even want to attain. This may be in part due to the criterion originally outlined as ‘feminist’ when the movement started. However, Alsop needs to make sure that her point is coming across to the reader in the way that she wants it
Words are powerful things. They can be used to construct or destruct. In the novel Black Boy, Richard Wright discovers this fact after reading inspirational works written by a man named Mencken. It is at this point in his life where he understands the importance of words. Wright qualifies the idea that language is an important key to identity and social acceptance using figures of speech and warrants.
Despite the problems that would arise, many people are beginning to feel that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Studies have been made; however, no hard evidence suggesting lowering the minimum drinking age would help have surfaced. Although there are countless studies of how alcohol has many harmful effects on teenagers, there is a great deal of negative criticism about what if the drinking age is lowered. Some would say the morally right decision is to not allow teens the chance to hurt themselves. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions and beliefs. However, the overall health of the youth of our country seems a little more important than some personal belief. The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol-related medical issues related to teens will increase.
In his autobiography, Black Boy, Richard Wright is constantly feeling alone and cast from society. He always knew he was different from his friends and the other kids; he knew that there was something separating himself from his peers- language. Throughout the novel Wright uses language to define roles, to define himself, and to define society.
They go to any extent to find people to serve them and they won’t settle for less. Slavery and imperialism may have been stopped in the united states and every other country in the world but it still exist today and still thrives greatly. France has thrived from the taxing their old colonies. According to an article on Global research called “France’s Colonial Tax Still Enforced for Africa. “Bleeding Africa and Feeding France”.” By World Bulletin “The article called attention to an ongoing practice by which former African countries are forced to pay a colonial tax to France – even today. In fact, France continues to thrive on the practice, which extracts approximately 500 billion dollars from African countries each year.” These african countries struggle to feed their civilians but they still getting taxed massively by France. France are the “US” in this scenario because they only care about their own interest over the
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).
According to ABC News, “Historians consider him a brilliant military tactician with an exceptional ability to rally his troops in the face of what might have seemed overwhelming challenges.” The historians have great points, however they do not have strong enough points because, although Alexander was a strong military leader on his side, he didn’t focus enough on helping his civilization.“ He failed to build the governing structure necessary to secure and sustain his vast empire, and it disintegrated after his death.” This proves that he was too focused on saving his empire from getting conquered, then saving his empire from failure which is what later happened. Alexander didn’t spend enough time saving his empire. He was too busy traveling everywhere else while his kingdom was suffering and slowly falling apart. While he was traveling, there was no proof of anyone else taking care of Macedonia. Therefore, this proves that his failures caused the empire to disintegrate. Alexander the Great was a strong military leader, but did he really care about his own empire or more about
Black Boy is a denunciation of racism and his conservative, austere family. As a child growing up in the South, Richard Wright faced constant pressure to submit to white authority, as well as to his family’s violence. However, even from an early age, Richard had a spirit of rebellion. His refusal of punishments earned him harder beatings. Had he been weaker amidst the racist South, he would not have succeeded as a writer.
Primarily, the drinking age should be lowered to teach responsibility and safety in young adults. The idea seems paradoxical; however, the high drinking age that is present in the U.S. today has only pushed underage drinking underground (Balko 458). In fact, America has the highest minimum drinking age in the world (Balko 459). Even though the American drinking age remains high, America still remains with an astonishingly large number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths. Is this statement a coincidence? Throughout the years alcohol has become more and more of an issue in young adults, but the correct actions are not taking place. If alcohol were to legally be put in the hands of Americans eighteen and above, these individuals would likely be forced to learn a sense of safety and responsibility. As stated by Caryn Sul...
Turning 18, one becomes an adult, however there are still many things that are restricted and not allowed until one reaches an even older age. The most controversial today is the minimum legal drinking age. Much like in the 1920s, when prohibition was established by the 18th amendment and all alcohol was banned from the United States, underground binge drinking occurred resulting in the opposite of what the law was intended to do. Then in 1933, the 21st amendment overturned that law, making alcohol legal again. Further down the timeline, in 1980 Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy. From their efforts, the federal government put in place a law that would revoke ten percent of any states highway funding who did not have their minimum legal drinking age set to 21. Immediately in 1984, all states raised their legal drinking ages to 21 in fear of being withheld the funding. Today, 30 years later, the law is still in place, however a debate has sprung up in support of lowering the drinking age back to 18. The group Amethyst Initiative, which has gained support from prestigious universities such as Dartmouth, Duke, and Virginia Tech, started this uproar. Through this, the question emerged, should the legal drinking age be lowered back to 18, and what would result if it happens? There are three positions on this issue. Position one wants to keep the drinking age as is, like Matt Nagin in “Top 3 Reasons Why the Drinking Age Should Not be Lowered.” Position two wants the legal drinking age to be lowered back to 18, like Dale Archer M.D. in “The Pros and Cons of Drinking at 18.” And position th...
Black Boy, which was written by Richard Wright, is an autobiography of his upbringing and of all of the trouble he encountered while growing up. Black Boy is full of drama that will sometimes make the reader laugh and other times make the reader cry. Black Boy is most known for its appeals to emotions, which will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat. In Black Boy Richard talks about his social acceptance and identity and how it affected him. In Black Boy, Richard’s diction showed his social acceptance and his imagery showed his identity.
The teacher tossed a Styrofoam basketball to the outstretched arms of a fifth grade boy. Catching the ball was the incentive for the boys to point out missing conventions in a paragraph. The teacher projected a paragraph on the board with omitted punctuation for the students to add. The other boys in the class watched him as he went to the board to add the missing comma and then tossed the ball back to the teacher. A few seconds later, other arms shot up in the air to point out other missing conventions (Stotsky). A simple incentive of competition for the boys made them enjoy learning and actually got them to participate in class. Although single-sex classrooms can develop stereotypes for both genders, separating boys and girls can be beneficial for the students. Single-sex classes are more effective because they raise test scores, create fewer distractions, and make kids interested in school.
Owning a pet can have many physical and mental health benefits. Medical studies show having a pet result's in lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Pets have a role in cardiovascular health from lowering blood pressure, and they encourage psychosocial stability in owners, which further reduces the risk of heart disease. In the hectic and fast-paced world we live in today, pets are actually saving our lives. Pets provide an excuse to be active, dogs live an active lifestyle, wanting to play and run around outside. By making us more active and improving our health, dogs often provide a good workout! Instead of sitting on the couch being lazy, dogs are eager to transfer their energy and enthusiasm to the owner benefiting both dog and owner in many ways. Studies show that dogs demonstrate trust and provide comfort to the sick or elderly thus helping people to live longer and to be more positive as they age. Animal owners over 75 years of age have f...
Some people think that single sex schools are good because girls and boys feel free to talk, ask and raise their hands without being made fun of, "The theoretical approach termed 'girl power' argues that girls lag behind boys in some subject in co-ed classrooms." (predit, 2014). However, Single sex schools are very bad because it affects children attitude, they will find difficulty in communicating with their colleagues in college as they were secluded and didn't interact with other sex in school. Boys and girls should know from a young age how to deal with the opposite sex, instead of facing that when they become adults, and don't have experience on what to do. Students in single-sex classrooms will one day live and work side-by-side with members of the opposite sex .Educating students in single-sex schools restrains their chance to work helpfully and cooperate effectively with parts of the inverse sex. "It is not long before the youth of today will be the parents, co-workers and leaders of tomorrow" (strauss, 2012). "Anything we organize along any variable, if we're saying boys he...