Is 18 Not Responsible Enough?

The current national drinking age in the United States is 21 years old, but why? It doesn’t make any sense to why the MLDA (Minimal Legal Drinking Age) has not been changed to 18 years old. We as American citizens all understand that once you hit that age of 18 your considered an adult. You are able to do stuff you have never been able to do alone because you’ve always needed a parent/ guardian. 

At the age of 18 your life completely changes. Your an adult. But one thing still seems crazy…you can’t consume or purchase any alcohol still. You may believe that’s normal because we are still young people, but no it’s insanely obnoxious to make that argument. You hit that one age and your already able to enlist into the army, go to jail, be a legal parent or guardian, get married and not even to mention the fact that you may already have your license and can operate a motor vehicle way before the age of 18. Yet, you still can’t make that one decision to consume alcohol. 

This most definitely is not a far from off change in the near future. No, were not like all other countries, but it’s clear proof that the legal age of 18 and even below is perfectly maintainable. In the World Population Review, were given surprising facts that the United States has one of the highest legal drinking ages in the world. That’s flat out obnoxious. Being told to make your own decisions, but you can’t consume this one drink though. Once again, were not Norway we are the US, but here is what Norway’s Minister had to say on the national drinking age, “I think people should be allowed to smoke, drink and eat as much red meat as they like,”. Clearly you can argue that their Minister doesn’t have anything to do with our country’s laws, but she provides a strong argument on the statement above. As long as were provided the proper facts on all products and given warning labels, as an 18 year old (which your considered an adult) you should be able to make the decision if it’s okay or not to consume.

Allowing the drinking age to be lowered to 18 would be a gigantic law change that should be sought out in the near future. As teens emerge into young adults and are given complete responsibility for their own lives, why is it that the consumption of alcohol is still prohibited till the age of 21?