The Flaws of The System Regarding The Drinking Age of Alcohol

In today’s day and age, the act of drinking alcohol is highly frowned upon by adults, but for us teenagers, it is seen as a normal daily occurrence. As we grow up, we see alcohol in all places. We see wine at church, we see our parents drink from time to time, we see bars full of people enjoying themselves, and we see alcohol used as a way to get to know each other. Alcohol is seen as an act of maturity, just like having a relationship, but alcohol is restricted until the age of 21. There are many signs of maturity, and most acts of maturity tend to be put off until later on in life, but it tends to be put off until someone turns about 16 or 18. Why is that not the case for alcohol?

We picked this topic to highlight the flaws of the system regarding the drinking age of alcohol. For example, at the age of 18, an individual can vote, get a tattoo or body piercing without the consent of parents, change their name, enter an adults-only store, buy tobacco, and even join the military, yet they cannot purchase or have any alcohol. It’s clear what’s wrong with the restrictive ages and it’s pretty unfair. With the same laws currently available, an “adult” can enlist in the military, get sent off to fight anywhere in the world and possess a firearm, fight and kill whoever they are fighting, possibly even get killed, and not be able to drink alcohol because “the body is not developed enough to handle it. On top of that, at 18, someone can get a full-time job while still at school, a clear responsibility that requires a lot of maturities, but can’t drink alcohol because they’re not mature enough.

As previously mentioned, in many states, you are able to purchase alcohol at age 18. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs(including illegal drugs). According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), smoking kills 1.3% of the smoking population each year. By those statistics, Tobacco is 20 times as deadly as alcohol, which only kills about 0.063% of the drinking population each year according to the CDC.

One of the reasons the minimum drinking age was raised to 21 in the first place was to ensure that driving would be safer. However, DUI statistics don’t necessarily support this hypothesis. Statistically speaking, new drivers, regardless of age, are going to have the highest accident rates. With 16-year-olds on the roads, there are going to be accidents. Barring them from drinking alcohol won’t stop them from being terrible drivers. We see that raising the drinking age has in fact reduced deaths among 18 to 20-year-olds, but it has also resulted in more deaths among those aged 21 to 24. In addition, many of those 18 to 21-year-olds have access to alcohol anyway, whether it be through fake IDs or parties in college.

Another fact to consider is that times have changed. Firstly, the legal maximum blood alcohol content for drivers now is usually set at 0.08%. Before the raising of the drinking age, the standard legal blood alcohol level was 0.1%, or even higher. Lowering the BAC has acted as a deterrent against drunk driving. Drunk driving has also become less socially acceptable. Not only is there widespread access to Uber and Lyft nowadays, but organizations like MAAD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) have also successfully shifted the nation's opinions on drunk driving, vilifying the act.

One of the organizations that is most impactful towards fighting for a lower drinking age is the National Youth Rights Association; a civil rights organization in the United States with approximately ten thousand members. They fight for the removal of legal restrictions against the young people of our country. These restrictions consist of the drinking age, the curfew, as well as the voting age, all controversial issues throughout the country. The organization was originally created in 1998 as a non-profit public benefit corporation with the full intent to lead the Youth Rights Movement. 

The NYRA group believes that the rights of young people are violated on a daily basis, and want to help defend their rights by providing information on the legal status of youth rights based on current laws, action plans regarding how to respond and get involved, as well as strategies to reinforce and expand youth rights. NYRA plans on educating their communities by analyzing the negative impact on the anti-youth laws, drafting alternative situations to anti-youth policies, giving young people a platform to speak out against age discrimination and prejudice, and challenging stereotypes of people through research and positive examples. Their main goal is to create equal rights and to fight against Ageism- prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age- mainly by overturning any discriminatory laws, or creating new laws that will prevent ageism, and give the youth more rights than today. 

The NYRA makes it quite easy to get involved. You can donate to become a member of the organization. As a member, one can help give young people advice, raise awareness, and fight against ageist laws. You can also become a volunteer. As a volunteer you can help the organization by writing blog articles, fundraising, supporting chapters with local campaigns, managing our social media accounts, sending out a newsletter, and designing specific leaflets and other merchandise. Through the volunteer program, you can also get an internship, which allows those who want to be involved to take more of a lead and take charge of their own projects under supervision. By creating a chapter, you will be a part of a growing movement, and you will get support from the national staff, along with press coverage and promotion. The NYRA will also connect you with other youth rights groups, as well as register an already existing group for you. By getting involved in such a large organization such as NYRA, we can pressure the government to overturn the current law for the drinking age, as well as help expand a wider presence of youth rights activism throughout the United States.

In order to introduce Lowering Alcohol Consumption Age, we are going to have a congress member introduce it. As soon as the bill on the drinking age is introduced, it is then passed to a committee to determine whether or not they are going forward with the bill. Often a bill is forward to the subcommittee for hearing and study by experts, supports, and opponents. Some of the opponents may argue that lowering the drinking age will only lead to increased irresponsible drinking among teenagers. However, people only drink either when they are home alone or have a designated driver when attending a party. Furthermore, the subcommittee can decide to send the introduced bill to the next floor, the full committee, and it would vote on the recommendation from the House and Senate. After a chamber of Congress approves the bill, it is passed to the other chamber and goes through the same processes: subcommittee, full committee, voting. After both the House and Senate have approved a bill, it is sent to the president. If the president approves of the legislation, he signs it and it becomes law. Also, while Congress is in session, and the president didn't take action for 10 days, the bill automatically becomes law.