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18 and The Forbidden Fruit
Turning 18 is the first great legal milestone in a young person’s life. When they wake up on their 18th birthday, the law now sees them as adults. They can vote, buy property, adopt a child, film a pornographic movie, purchase a long gun and do a host of things that they could not have done the day before. Young people are also held accountable for their own actions and could be sued in court or thrown in jail for crimes they have committed; they are forced to sign up for the draft, risking the possibility of being sent off to distant lands to fight wars and they are now forced to pay taxes if they have a job. So with all these responsibilities and privileges given to 18 year olds, why not allow them to consume alcohol? Lowering the age limit to 18 is a great idea that can be a benefit for many. It teaches young adults to be responsible; “The majority of the people around the world who are introduced to alcohol at an early age and learn to drink appropriately (often at home, with food and in the company of family) continued to drink responsibly and rarely get drunk, so that drinking poses no threat to themselves or others” (Heath, 2000); it helps the government build a better infrastructure by taxing the alcohol consumed by these young people and finally, it is just plain fair. Our youth can kill for our country but they are not allowed to take a sip of alcohol? It is a double standard that should be eliminated.
According to the Andrea C Nakaya, “National beer sales alone pull in $30 billion in taxes. The beer industry in the U.S. spends $1.36 billion in advertising annually, employs 1.78 million people and pays $54 billion in wages and benefits. These numbers are even greater when the drinking age is lowered” (Nakaya, 72). The more people consume these alcoholic beverages the more money that could be raised for the