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Mrs.Krause
English12
5/17/15
PositionPaper
Im18yearsold.Icanjointhemilitary,Icangetmarried.Icanserveonajury,Icanbe
prosecutedasanadultandIcanvoteforthenextpresidentoftheUnitedStates.Theaboveis
conferringatremendousamountofresponsibilitytoa18yearoldperson.Ifsocietyperceivesa
18yearoldtobematureenoughtoserveourcountry,etc.,an18yearoldshouldbeableto
makeresponsibledecisionsabouttheiralcoholconsumption.Thereforeitismybeliefthatthe
drinkingageshouldbeloweredto18yearsold.
Because18yearoldscannotdrinklegally,theirdrinkingispushedundergroundandit
becomessensationalizedbecauseitistaboo.Alotoftimeisspentpoolingmoneyandacquiring
alcohol.Thereisfrequentlyasenseofurgency.Ifyoungpeopleareataparty,thehostsparents
cancomehomeatanytime.Thepolicecancomeatanytime.Bingedrinkingbecomesa
practicality.48ormorequickshotshavetobeconsumedtogetbuzzedbecausethenightcould
endquickly.Thatisnowaytoteachmoderationorthepowerofalcohol.Ifthedrinkingage
was18asisotherlifemilestoneevents,youngpeoplecouldlearnhowtohandlealcoholina
maturefashionwithoutfrenzy.Asa17yearoldonthecuspof18,Iexperiencethisfirsthand.I
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seekidsgettinghammeredatpartiesbuttheycannotpartakeinsharingabottleofwinewith
family,agoodplacetolearnaboutalcohol.Notonlyisthisnonsensicalbutitsnotsafe.
InEuropeancountries,theconsumptionofwineispartoftheculture.InCNNsarticle
entitledShouldtheU.SLoweritsDrinkingAge,welearnthatinFranceandItaly,childrenare
servedsmallamountsofwineatfamilymealstoeducatethemaboutalcoholandtakeawayits
allure.Theideaisthatthemystiqueisremovedsothereisnoforbiddenfruitsyndrome.
BrownUniversityanthropologistDwightB.Heathbelievesthattheyoungerpeoplestart
drinkingthesafertheyare.IntheU.S.wecreatesuchapowerfulfocusontheage21todrink
thatyoungpeoplehavenoideahowtodrinksafelyormoderately.Ittoooftenseemsthatgetting
drunklegallyinabarisarightofpassage.Itslikeputtingcarkeysinaperson'shandwhohas
hadnodrivinglessons.Couldbedeadly.
Therearemanyargumentsagainstloweringthedrinkingage.Onthewebsite
ProCon.org,MinimalLegalDrinkingAge,theauthorscitethepossibilityofmovingontoillicit
drugs,lackofmaturity,andentreintobarsandtheunsavoryelementspossibilityfoundthereas
partoftheirargument.Thesearenotcompellingenoughtokeepthedrinkingageat21yearsold.
Themoreexperienceapersonhaswithalcoholasapartofadinnerorcelebratoryevent,the
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moresuccessfultheywillbeintheirmanagementofit.Iftheideaofagettogetheristoget
drunk,thereisnolearningorappreciationofalcoholinconjunctionwithacceptablesocietal
mores.
Alcoholisapowerfuldrugnomatterwhatagepeopleareintroducedtoit.Itisafactof
lifethatitexistsallovertheworld.Thealcoholbusinessisa$400billiondollarindustry.
generatingnearly
$90billion
inwagesandover3.9millionjobsforU.S.workers.Thereisno
Prohibitioninsightanytimesoon.Itismycontentionthatloweringthedrinkingageto18,
treatingouryoungpeoplewhowillvote,fightforourcountry,possiblygetmarriedastheyoung
adultsthattheyareandeducatingthemhowtodrinkresponsiblyisthekeytomovinginto
successfuladulthood.
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AnnotatedBibliography
CNN.comBrownUniversityanthropologistDwightB.Heaththeyoungerpeoplestartdrinking
thesafertheyare.SundayJanuary4th2015.
Thisarticleistellingustheprosofchangingthedrinkingageto18.DwightB.HeathIs
explainingtoadultsthattheearlierchildrenareintroducedtoalcoholthelessalluringitis.Itis
justpartofameal.Kidsdontfeeltheneedtosneakoffandbingedrinkwhentheycantaste
wineandlearntoappreciateitaspartofaculinaryexperience.
Iusedthisarticletosupportmyargumentthatthedrinkingageshouldbeloweredto18.
ProCon.orgUnknownauthor2015
Thisarticlewasusedtoillustratetheprosandconsofchangingthedrinkingage.Iuseditwhen
discussingsomeoftheconsofloweringthedrinkingageto18.TheargumentsIchosespoketo
thepossibilityofmovingontoillegaldrugswhendrinkingsoyoung,thelackofmaturityofan
18yearoldandtheinapproriatequalitiesfoundinbarsthatmightnegativelyimpactyoung
people.WhatwashelpfulaboutofthestructureofthisarticlewasthatIcouldseethearguments
sidebyside.