...| How Old is Old Enough? | Drinking Age | | | 11/11/2011 | How old is old enough to have an alcoholic beverage? | How Old is Old Enough? The legal drinking age is a topic that has come up for, and will continue to come up for, many years. The main question that needs to be answered is what is it that determines when a person is able to drink. Should we continue to base the drinking level on age or should we look at other characteristics. Those enrolled in the military have special benefits when it comes to drinking. In the year of 2011, the legal drinking age in the United States for all non-military people is 21 years of age. There is research for both sides of the spectrum. Some believe that the age should be lowered from 21, while others believe 21 is the perfect age. Then there are the people who say that the drinking age should be taken even higher than 21. Some want the drinking age to be as high as 25. Will lowering the drinking age stop teens from binge drinking? If we take the drinking age higher, will it simply cause rebellion in the teen world? Many feel as though the law of 21 before drinking saves 1,000 deaths per year. The numbers of teens killed in alcohol related accidents have dropped somewhere from 11-16 percent since the 21 law have been implemented. Taking on higher drinking ages allows for a low intoxication level. For instance, in Georgia, where 21 is the legal drinking age, the blood alcohol level to be considered intoxicated is...
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...Essay 2 Rough Draft Writing 123 Enthymeme: The minimum legal drinking age in the United States should not be lowered from 21 to 18 because the legal drinking age is in place to protect young people at a time when irresponsible behavior is prevalent. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Debate Since 2008, 136 college chancellors and presidents have signed the Amethyst Initiative, asking that the United States reconsider the minimum legal drinking age-21 (MLDA-21) laws that have been in place in all 50 states since 1984. The Amethyst Initiative argues that the MLDA-21 laws simply do not work, create a culture of binge-drinking, and that a policy of legalization and education would be more effective in protecting the safety of American adolescents. Elisabeth Muhlenfeld, the president of Sweet Briar College in Virginia and Amethyst Initiative signatory writes that 70 percent of the student population is underage. Teaching abstinence to students that blatantly ignore the MLDA-21 laws, or urging responsible behavior while drinking underage and breaking the law, are both hypocritical positions for the college administration to be in (Muhlenfeld 2). The Amethyst Initiative position is that current MLDA-21 laws have created a culture of heavy alcohol use by making drinking clandestine and extreme (Saylor 1). The statistics seem to back up this claim. Recent survey's of the 18-20 year old population by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that a full 72 percent report...
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...Amethyst Initiative is a proposal to consider lowering legal drinking age to 18. Some 130 universities have signed on to the initiative. UVa has not. “The initiative has triggered a backlash of criticism from health experts, transportation officials, government leaders, and opponents of drunken driving.” (Nancy) I think lowering drinking age will cause more problems. Because Lowering-drinking age to 18 not only let teenagers even younger than 18 will get alcohol, but also raises the number of drunk-driving accidents. We also cannot ignore this action will increase the number of problem cause by alcohol. All those things happen in our daily life and warning us that drinking age should not be lowered to 18. Lower drinking age is just like give the group of underage drinking teenagers official IDs instead of fake ones. And they will become much more reckless, even those one who used to care about the law so didn’t drink will soon become drunk. “A study done in 2003-4 at Johns Hopkins tested the incidence of binge drinking (as that term is defined in the Wechsler studies) in the age group just below the legal age in various countries. David Jernigan, who directed the study, used Wechsler’s survey methods to quantify the percentage of 16-18 year-olds who reported having become seriously drunk during the 30 days prior to their taking the survey. The evidence is being construed as proof that no matter what the legal age, persons just below it are disposed to drink to excess.” (Nancy)...
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...Drinking Age of the Military: Should it be Lowered Jason M. Stoudt DeVry University The drinking age in the military is currently set at 21 years old as it is set for the rest of the country. There has been an age old statement widely used by those in the military, “If I am old enough to fight and die for my country, I should be old enough to drink”. The debate is out there that the drinking age should be lowered for all young adults from 18 years old to 21 years old. The idea behind the fact that younger people tend to have less responsibility and are not good candidates for being allowed to drink is a valid point. Those serving in the military are different in that respect for the fact that they have more responsibilities than that of their counterparts in the civilian side of the realm. Anyone in the military from 18 until retirement has to be more responsible and is dealt with more severe consequences if they break the rules. Now the thing to look at is that it has not always been this way. In earlier years the military service members were allowed to drink if they were 18 years old and older as long as they were on a military base. It did not matter if the military base was overseas or inside the United States. In the middle of the 1980’s advocacy groups such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) as well as other groups lobbied Congress to have the rules changed. Per the U.S.C. 10, Section 2683, an amendment was made that changed the policy to reflect that the...
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...Case study analysis CASE METHOD EXERCISE: ABERCROMBIE & FITCH (by Meg Connolly, in Marketing Ethics: Cases and Readings (2006), edited by Patrick E. Murphy and Gene R. Laczniak) Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) of today differs dramatically from the original waterfront shop in New York that carried high-quality clothing suitable for camping, fishing and hunting. The A&F of 2002 can be found in virtually any major mall in America, and its target market includes preteen and teenagers. Indeed, the shift has been rather dramatic, and it could certainly be asserted that the direction A&F has recently headed strays substantially from the original vision of its founders. The style of clothes offered by A&F could be described as worn, casual, and rather rugged. Some critics contend the merchandise at A&F is seemingly overpriced considering that it is arguably no more unique than any other store of its kind geared toward the same market. One aspect of A&F that does make it unique from other stores, however, is their catalogue that was first published in 1997 and comes out four times a year with a spring break, summer, back-to-school, and Christmas issue. The Quarterly is a magazine-hybrid that, in addition to the clothing portion of the catalogue, has interviews with actors, musicians, directors and even some famous scholars. Fashion legend Bruce Weber does many of the photographs that appear throughout the magazine, and “these photos depict young, healthy, presumably red-blooded...
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...until the age of twenty-one. The United States is one of four other countries with a drinking age of twenty-one or higher. The other three are Indonesia, Mongolia and Palau (Gillespie). The government does not trust anybody under the age of twenty-one to consume alcohol but trusts them to die and kill for them. They also grant 18 year olds the right to marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, adopt a child and buy tobacco. The minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) should be lowered to eighteen to match the other responsibilities an eighteen year old is granted. The drinking age has been debated throughout history. Many states set the drinking age to eighteen to match the responsibilities given to them at that age after prohibition was ended. These ages were only raised because of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 put into effect by Ronald Reagan. If the states did not agree to this, they were cut back ten percent in their federal highway funds (Devon). The federal government states they give the right to control the drinking age to the state government. This does not make sense since they would cut back ten percent of their highway fund for just thinking about lowering the drinking age, which no state could survive without (Jolley). The supporters of the twenty- one drinking age believe that it has saved many lives. This is true to some degree. The deaths from drunk- driving accidents did go down, but some argue it wasn’t just the higher drinking age. Cars...
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...Drinking age is a common thing in the United States. Based on what I found out in the articles is that the minimum age for a person to drink is at 21. People argued that they should lowered the drinking age to 18. In some parts of the U.S, they are allow to drink, with exception of the Muslims religion. Underage drinking can result an increase on teen pregnancy or a disease. Drinking age can result a brain disorder or even dead. In some college schools 10 out of 20 students have try alcohol and the does not stop them from doing it repeatedly until they can’t handle no more. The idea of drinking age legal is that the government want to lower the legal drinking age to 18, but we know that students are not full develop to drink or do drugs. Perhaps...
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...the legal drinking age of 21 have saved nearly 900 lives in traffic accidents alone. Personally, I believe that the law should continue throughout the United States. Since 1988 all 50 states have a minimum age of 21. In “Keeping Legal Drinking Age at 21 Saves 900 Lives Yearly: Study,” Bahar Gholipour argues that the legal drinking age should remain at 21. As a contrasting opinion, in “The Drinking Age Is Past Its Prime,” Camille Pagila states that the drinking age of 21 has pushed young adults down the path of using pills and other drugs. She also claims that setting the drinking age at 21 makes the United States different from other Western Nations. Pagila also debates the decrease in drunk-driving deaths and argues that there are other reasons for the decrease in fatal accidents, such as the use of seatbelts and higher DWI penalties. Pagila declares, “Today, furthermore, there are many other causes of traffic accidents, such as the careless use of cell phones or...
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...Highway Policy Age—it is nothing but a number—as many people say. With age comes wisdom, and with wisdom, wise decisions are made. Maintaining the minimum legal drinking age at 21 will deter life-long consequences, decrease traffic fatalities in result of alcohol consumption, and relieve issues in relation to public safety. In 1984, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act mandated that all states increase the minimum age purchase and consumption to 21. Under the Federal Highway Aid act, also referred to as the National Interstate of Defense Highways Act which was established in 1956, states that do not adhere to this requirement faced a highway-fund cutback consequence. Underage drinking, which affects many adolescent-and-young-adult households, is a problem and a significant public health concerns. It is correlated with an abundant array of damaging consequences (Spoth, Greenberg, & Turrisi, 2009, pg. 1, para. 1). Over the past several decades or so, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) has raised debate in the United States. The influence to decrease the MLDA from 21 to 18, 19, or 20 came from a decrease in the legal voting age to 18. A total of 29 states lowered their MLDA between the years of 1970 to 1975. Because of this poorly thought through revision, traffic collision due to alcohol consumption have dramatically increased in adults between the ages of 18-20. With such dramatic outcomes of the MLDA, state-level movements to reverse the MLDA back to the age of 21 came underway...
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...The debate about whether or not to lower the drinking age has been going on for years now with people on both sides having strong points. The side with the stronger side of the argument, in my opinion, would have to be yes, we should lower the drinking age to either eighteen or nineteen years old. I will be going over four points on why the drinking age should be lowered and they are as follows: it would teach responsible drinking behaviors and stop irresponsible college drinking, if we tried to raise the drinking age we would have another prohibition-like era which we all know how that turned out, there are fewer traffic accidents in countries with the drinking age of eighteen, and the morals around it, because if we can send an eighteen year old to Iraq then why can’t he make his own decision and have a drink? Lowering the drinking age to eighteen or nineteen would help the irresponsible drinking and help educate youth to know moderation when it comes to alcohol. “According to procon.org they state that if youth between the age of eighteen and twenty were allowed to drink in controlled environments such as bars, restaurants, social events, and other licensed locations would allow them to learn moderation and not resort to binge drinking in other areas such as fraternity houses or house parties.” (Should) Many college students are drinking as a pass-time and we can’t seem to do anything about it that is just it is. If we lower the drinking age, however, it will not only show...
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...Topic: Drinking Age in the United States Specific Purpose: to motivate my audience to protest for lowering the Drinking Age from 21 Central Idea: Lowering the legal alcohol consumption age will reduce the rate of underage drinking charges: INTRODUCTION I. The Attention Step A. 10.4 million kids reported drinking last year so obviously this law is not working. The average teen begins drinking at 14, seven years before they can legally drink. 1. I’m sure at least a few of you have taken some of your parents alcohol without them knowing about it or have participated in underage drinking at some point in your life up to now and if not you might in college. 2. If you haven’t and don’t plan on it because it is illegal, just know that if the legal drinking age were changed, one would have nothing to think about. Transition: So why do we need to lower the drinking age? II. The Need Step: A. Since the drinking age was raised teens have tended to drink in more of an abusive manor. 1. In 2011 in the United States, 13,000 underage kids died from alcohol poisoning. The next closest country had just 5,000. 2. If the number of underage drinking charges in America reduces, then the overall rate of crime in America will drop therefore making America a safer country. 3. A recent Kansas City newspaper asked 8,726 students if the drinking age should be lowered. Out of 8,726 asked 7,992 said yes B. Underage kids want to consume alcohol and them not being of legal age will not be...
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...Since the early times of human civilization, alcohol has been an enjoyable drink to accompany dinners, parties, celebrations, and almost any other occasion. As time and research has progressed laws have been put into place to regulate alcohol consumption. Countries around the world have laws and bans on under-age drinking and set certain ages at their minimums. There are a few countries with no limits, but for the majority the ages range from fourteen to eighteen, with the United States as an exception with their law at twenty one. Twenty one is too high for a limit and has been the cause of many fatalities, alcohol poisoning and other tragedies; it should be lowered to add more benefits to the youth of America including a safe at-home environment...
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...Much controversy has been debating on the subject of drinking age in the United States. Many people see it unfit that the drinking age in the United States is one of the highest in the world. The United States and the United Kingdom are very close compared to each other and will continue to be compared to one another. The question that must be asked is, should the drinking age be lowered for American voters, servicemen, and women. First, there are many causes to underage drinking illegally in the United States. One theory to this is that today's society is an open minded people aloud to speak out whatever they believe. This is completely legal under the Bill of Rights. In the past though this type of actions were frond upon by families, and communities. Also, underage drinking is due to the curiosity of teenager, or even wanting to fit in with their friends, or cool kids. This could all be prevented or at least reduced if the drinking age was lowered. The reason for this is that it will allow a greater number of teens to become familiar with alcohol, and the affects it has on their body....
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...You're known as an adult in the big wide vast world but cannot enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage? The legal age of drinking in the U.S should be lowered to 18. This is an ongoing topic throughout law enforcement and very debatable if it should stay, be raised, or even lowered which is what should happen. As civilians are allowed to enlist in the military and fight for our country but cannot have alcohol? As Americans turn 18 they are known as adults but cannot drink. If underage drinking is very common and not often stopped by authorities, why will it not be lowered? There are also many reasons to not lower it and even raise it. Having the ability to enlist into the military and risking the lives of many Americans as they fight for our country but yet, these fellow...
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...Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18? Every teenager anticipates the day that they will finally be eighteen years old. This is the day they are finally seen as being an adult in the eyes of our government. Eighteen year olds are now free to make their own life choices and be held accountable for them. At the age of eighteen, you are free to put your life on the line and fight for your country, if you commit a crime you can be tried as an adult in court, and you are also give the right to vote in your country. So, why should the drinking age be twenty-one years old when you are considered an adult at the age of eighteen? At the age of eighteen you are not mature and responsible enough to purchase and consume alcohol. Alcohol has been around for centuries, showcased at parties, bars, sports events and just about everywhere. For these very reasons every day in our country the drinking age is being ignored and violated by young adults, teenagers, and even children all under the age of twenty-one. “On average ninety-five percent of those who will be alcohol consumers in their lifetime take their first drink before the age twenty one. Fifty percent of eighteen to twenty year olds consume alcohol on a regular basis” (McCardell 1). Based on these statistics we can conclude that the enforcement of the legal drinking age has fallen short. The most commonly known place where alcohol is consumed very heavily is on our college campuses. Many college students participate in binge...
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