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Drinking Age

Is the Drinking Age Fair?

At the age of eighteen, the government will grant a minor certain rights to marry, to vote, and to join the service. According to their standards, eighteen year olds are considered adults, yet these “adults” can not walk into a local bar to get a drink for another three years. Some restaurants and bars even turn these “minor adults” away after a certain time. How is this fair if the government expects these teens to take full responsibility for all of their actions, yet they refuse to allow them full privileges?
To introduce this argument, one must know some history. President Nixon supported that “if an 18- year old was eligible to be drafted into military service and sent overseas to fight for the U.S, he/she should also be able to help decide the leadership of this country…” This right lead to many others. In 1971 the 26th amendment was added to the constitution which lowered the voting age to eighteen. Following that amendment, the government proceeded to lower the drinking age. Minors gained the right to purchase and consume hard liquor, in contrast to the past where they could only drink beer and wine (Kauffman).
There are many disagreements on whether the drinking age should remain or be changed. The main defending group is called MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driving). Supporters argue that the drinking age should remain for the shear fact that car crashes have decreased between the ages of eighteen and twenty since 1984. According to medical charts, the human brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty- one; therefore, underage drinking could cause brain damage to any minor consuming it. Another main argument that MADD makes is that if eighteen year olds were allowed the consumption of alcohol, then what would stop them from bringing it to school and passing it on to under classmen (Minimum drinking age)? Even though many of these are good points, the main focus has been and still is drunk driving,...