English 102
20 October 2014
Argument Essay
Raising the Drinking Age Recently in the news, have been rumors of raising the drinking age to 25 years old, shocking people around the country. Despite the negative public reaction to this possible change in age, but I believe 21-year-olds are still too naïve to be legally allowed to drink alcohol. In my opinion, the drinking age should be raised to 25 because of constant binge drinking by 21-24-year-olds. The abuse of alcohol these young adults displays results in things such as: binge drinking, alcohol poising, drunk driving, and other reckless behaviors. Too many young adults binge drink because drinking is a game to them. About 90% of alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the U.S. is classified as binge drinking ("Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking"). Binge drinking is dangerous; it can cause alcohol poisoning, which can lead to hospitalization. If ignored, alcohol poising can cause death. Young adults are usually the main participants in binge drinking, which is heightened by drinking games such as: kings, quarters, flip cup, and beer pong. (details of these games) Because of how quickly alcohol is consumed while playing these games, it is quite dangerous to play drinking games, no matter how innocent they may seem. Driving under the influence of alcohol is prevalent in today’s society. Not only is driving under the influence illegal, but it also endangers the lives of the driver and their passengers, and the lives of all the innocent people on the road. The rate of drunk driving is highest among 21-25-year-olds ("GET INVOLVED"). These young adults make the decision to drive to bars and end up driving home because they do not want to leave their cars at the bar. One would think that a DUI would teach drunk drivers a lesson, but that is not the case, as there are thousands of people out there with multiple drunk driving incidents on their records. Penalties for DUI’s are increasingly larger each time a driver is arrested, costing the driver thousands of dollars, loss of license, possible jail time and more. It is common for 21-year-olds to be immature and be unable to control themselves when they are intoxicated. A lot of newly 21-year-olds get kicked out of bars for being too intoxicated, and acting like fools. Bars are not allowed to serve any person who is visibly intoxicated. Bars are not legally allowed to serve any person who is visibly intoxicated, so a lot of 21-24-year-olds end up getting kicked out for drinking too much and getting out of hand. Immaturity can also lead to fighting, something that is very dangerous, and could potentially result in arrest and/or hospitalization. There are many people out there who disagree with my opinion of raising the legal drinking age. They believe the drinking age should be lowered to 18 because it is legal to vote and join the military at that age, which many consider this to be the first year as an adult and also as the age of legal independence. The belief is that at age 18 a person is old enough to live alone and potentially die for their country, so why should being able to consume alcohol any different? It is medically irresponsible to have the drinking age lowered, as the brain’s