Drinking age: Increase or Decrease?

Should the drinking age in the U.S. increase or decrease? I honestly think it should stay the same, but I would like to hear your opinions about it...

asked Jun 12 '10 at 01:03

iGirlyyyy
1.9k●26●50●57

edited Mar 04 '11 at 11:25

Justin
8.4k●104●143●222

No. You have no right to tell other adults what they can or cannot put in their body (or other people's children for that matter). You do not have that right and I do not have that right. It therefore follows that neither you or I can delegate that right to a government, and therefore a government cannot have that right, because a government is 1. composed of people with the same rights as you and I and 2. acts on the authority and consent of its citizens (supposedly).

Besides being unethical, the use of violence to impose your tastes, suppositions, and fears on others can only result in destruction of value (e.g. comfort, happiness, personal gain, fulfillment). Every time a person is prevented from making their own choices, taking their own risks, and setting their own path in life they are deprived of value; others are further deprived of value in having to fund and participate in that violence, and still others may be hurt as they are collaterally affected by the resultant conflicts. The effect of prohibitions of any kind is a net loss to all of humanity; it is impossible to do more good than harm in this pursuit.

(Jun 23 '10 at 10:40) Justen Robertson

45 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

12 3 4 5next page »

19	underaged drinking happens everyday and everywhere either way. most people do it to be a rebel in my opinion. if it wasnt such a big deal to drink when underaged, i think it would be less abused answered Jun 12 '10 at 15:42 AndrewFtNguyen 7.7k●85●206●240

I am on active duty in the Air Force. I think it should decrease since most young men and women I know have went to war and fought. If they are willing to put their lives on the line why not let them enjoy a drink or two.

This answer is marked "community wiki".

answered Jun 12 '10 at 05:20

Pixle101
0●8●8●13

Drinking age should be 18, if your old enough to join the military and fight in wars. You should be old enough to drink.

answered Jun 12 '10 at 04:09

ModifiedReality
256●1●2●5

There is a right of passage for several ages. 14 to work, 16 to drive, 18 to vote/join the army, 21 to drink, 25 to run for office, 35 to run for president. So based on this logic, if I should be able to join and serve in the army, I should be able to run for president!

(Jun 23 '10 at 01:47) xforever1313

7	You can loose your life for your country at 18, but Uncle Sam won't let you drink till you are 21. That's just not right, soldiers an exception maybe, but 18 still means high school, so no, keep it the same. answered Jun 13 '10 at 00:54 Alex Melton 823●70●81●91

If you are old enough to go off to war and die for Lady America, then you should be able to ingest the fermented juices of various plants.

answered Jun 12 '10 at 16:28

TheFogul
311●8●15●20

I have honestly never heard it called Lady America. And I like what you did there with your word choice. Ingesting the fermented juices of various plants sounds better than getting drunk :D

(Jun 23 '10 at 05:34) GavinRoskamp

Dude I am 16 years old and here in The Netherlands I am already allowed to drink. So yeah they should decrease it.

answered Jun 12 '10 at 05:29

zezioen
746●7●11●30

lolwat!? It's legal? Holy crap! It isn't the same in Australia, is it? EDIT Oh wait a minute. I'm going crazy. I was thinking New Zealand! XD My bad. But still, is it 21 in Australia too, or is it lower? Because I am planning on moving there as soon as I graduate...

(Jun 23 '10 at 05:35) GavinRoskamp

4	Decrease it to 14, so I can have a beer with my dad. =) answered Jun 12 '10 at 14:30 AppleHack23 (suspended)

3	I think they should lower it to 18 even though it is not bad where it is now. I know lots of people who drink that are my age, and I'm 14. I think people will drink anyway so why not lower it. answered Jun 12 '10 at 19:20 Liam Quade 7.4k●92●121●197

I don't see why drinking is such a big deal anyway.

answered Jun 12 '10 at 19:34

Michael
4.7k●10●42●65

Alcohol intake kills brain cells. They don't want kids drinking because their brains aren't fully developed yet, thus making it harder for them to learn, and since they aren't fully developed, it will have a larger impact on their behaviors while intoxicated. Nevertheless, many teens drink just to rebel the law. Of those, most are not the brightest stars in the sky. Partially because they chose to drink, partially because they chose not to put effort into school, and partially because they drank. Stupid people + alcohol = Stupider people. Yes, stupider.

(Jun 23 '10 at 05:33) GavinRoskamp

In my opinion it should be increased because of the high rate of drunken related accidents and controversies around it. Until the US population can learn to drink alcohol in moderation we need to have restrictions on it.

answered Jun 13 '10 at 01:12

Craighton ♦♦
16.6k●115●207●329

Amen. For example, my almost constantly drunk uncle shouldn't be allowed to drink as much as he does. Yet others, like my aunt (different side of the family) rarely drinks, so she shouldn't have strict regulations. It needs to be an adjustable age for different people. Not just a strict deadline. When someone is 20 years and 364 days old, they're not hilariously more idiotic than they are at 21 years. It should be gradual, like our driving license deal now. Permits are 15, license at 16, full privileges at 21. It should be similar for alcohol, yet not starting at 15. Start at 18, allow small amounts, then 21 moderate amounts, then later at like 25, release restrictions, or at least cap it higher.

Maybe I'm just going crazy with that idea. It's almost 5AM. I should probably be sleeping and not trying to make sense. LOL.

(Jun 23 '10 at 05:43) GavinRoskamp

I say you should be allowed to drink at 15. I'm 13 and I'm responsible enough to drink. In fact, I have a glass of wine on many important holidays, and occasionally besides. Instead of outlawing it, they should introduce people to it at an early age, where parents have control.

(Jul 08 '10 at 14:28) HHBones

12 3 4 5next page »

Your answer

toggle preview

community wiki

Follow this question

By Email:

Once you sign in you will be able to subscribe for any updates here

By RSS:

Answers

Answers and Comments

Markdown Basics

*italic* or __italic__
**bold** or __bold__
link:[text](http://url.com/ "title")
image?![alt text](/path/img.jpg "title")
numbered list: 1. Foo 2. Bar
to add a line break simply add two spaces to where you would like the new line to be.
basic HTML tags are also supported

learn more about Markdown