In today’s society adulthood is the age in every person’s life where they are considered responsible for their actions. Responsibility is something that doesn’t necessarily come with age, but according to our society age is everything. A young person sometimes waits years just to participate in something that they consider important to them. Many people reach maturity at different points in their life, but due to the age restrictions on almost everything today, that maturity ultimately has nothing to do with their respected lifestyle choices. Many people believe it is ethical to allow a man to die for his country, get married and start a family, but deny him the right to consume alcohol before he is twenty-one years of age.

Let’s step back and think of some things that are governed by age restrictions. Does it seem right that a young boy must wait until he is twelve years of age just to go hunting with his father? Is it ethical that a teenager waits until he or she is sixteen to drive a motor vehicle? Is a teenager truly considered an adult at age eighteen? These questions along with many others are what many people need to ask themselves. In old

Proponents of a higher minimum drinking age argue that, although those under twenty one consist of only 10% of all licensed drivers, they were involved in an annual average of 24.6% of alcohol –related traffic fatalities from 1977 to 1984. What these people fail to point out is that this age group is involved in 29.5% of all non-related fatalities. Inexperience behind the wheel may account for a large number of deaths in both categories alike.

When weighed out there are more supporting facts toward a lower legal drinking age. At the age of eighteen a person is considered an adult and should by all means be treated as such. Legally a person can make any decision except the one to drink alcohol. It is possible for such a person to get married and start a family. One can serve in the military and under drastic circumstances they might even be asked to sacrifice their life for their country. All of these decisions are important decisions, decisions that not only affect the people making them, but other people around them as well.

It is a proven fact that early introduction of drinking is the safest way to reduce juvenile alcohol abuse. Many young people in France, Spain, and Argentina rarely abuse alcohol. They learn to drink within the family, which sees drinking in moderation as not only natural, but also normal. Youth in these countries rarely embarrass themselves or their families by abusing alcohol.

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