Why is 21 the drinking age and is it in fact the the real age limit Essay

Why is 21 the drinking age and is it in fact the the real age limit - Essay Example Plenty of European countries are extremely negligent about it, and 12 year-olds are drinking more responsibly than many 23 year-olds in the States.(Grossman, 2006) When I say drinking responsibly, I mean drinking socially, such as dropping by somewhere and having a few mixed drinks or a couple of beers or something. The irresponsible drinking is drinking just to get drunk, meaning power-hours, taking 13 shots of 151 in half an hour (not fun), and just being, well, irresponsible. The latter type of drinking, from what I've seen, is mostly done by people who have little or no experience in drinking, and the availability of it is just too enticing to pass up, since you can inebriate yourself on a weekly or nightly basis. I have nothing personal against this type of drinking, especially since I partake in it. (Dombroski, 2004) The interesting thing, to me, is that there is no argument about the health effects of alcohol. Nobody is talking about liver and kidney failure, o r mental health problems due to legal alcohol consumption. I haven't seen anyone mention of drunk driving. The only things really being talked about are binge drinking, parental involvement, being old enough to fight for the country, and violence. In order to make this a complete discussion, the topics that are talked about need to be more complete. (Grossman, 2006) A lot more questions need to be asked. ... What I'm trying to point out is that while alcohol is a major contributor to a lot of violent crimes, health problems, and accidents, Federal, State, and local governments maintain that alcohol is still "legal" even if the age limit is kept at 21. (Dobkin, 2007) I have interviewed several university and college students concerning this issue of whether 21 should be the legal drinking age or is it a real age when people should start drinking. This is the report that I collected from four types of data which are relevant to the study of the effects of the increase in the drinking age. The data are from surveys of drinking and drinking problems among high school students; (Flynn, 2007) The 21 year old drinking age is an abridgment of the age of majority. By 18, Americans are legally adults and are entitled to all the rights and responsibilities that come with that role but one; the freedom to choose whether or not to consume alcohol.(Gever, 2006) The 21 year old marginalizes the role of parents in the process of teaching and encouraging responsible decisions about alcohol use. There is clear consensus cross introducing their children to responsible alcohol use. The 21 year old drinking age effectively eliminates this important parental role forcing parents to either break the law by serving their underage.(Grossman, 2006) Drinking isn't only something to do - it's something everyone can do together. It's how freshmen begin meeting people. "You don't know anybody, and then somebody hands you a beer and pretty soon you're hanging out with a bunch of guys," says Simon, a 19-year-old sophomore, remembering his first days in college. Freshmen drink hard early on: A 1995 Harvard study of college