Why is the drinking age 21?, not fair, adults at 18, but can't drink yet?

Question

why does the U.S. have the highest drinking age?, c'mon, by the time everyone reaches 21, Alcohol will be far from new to them, their liver will already be damaged, cause everyone under 21 has been to a lot of parties & drank before, even people don't drink under 21, such as me because I'm not that social, I go to a community college instead of a 4-year university, I wish I was going to San Diego State. I don't drink because I never get invited to parties, anyway cut that crap, back to the point, why did the U.S. make the legal drinking age so high?, how long has it been this way?. For the people that don't party, I bet it would still feel weird because it feels like they have been allowed to drink alcohol for the longest time from hearing all the people their age who drank underage.

Answer 1

I agree. I think you should have to wait until you are 21 to vote, drive and die for your country.

The age changed in the early 80's, 80 or 81. My sister was one of the people that were grandfathered in because she was already 18 and drinking when the law was passed.

Answer 2

I think the legal drinking age is fine I mean come on i remember high school and how many of my friends died about 4 in my class alone due to car accident most of these where in my sophomore year.Also do you reallying think that most 18 yearolds are responsible enough to be allowed in bars and other places to drink not only will the driving drunk accidents increase but so will high school dropouts. being 18 is a fragile time in your life you either make it or break it your just starting college and with the way teens are irresponsible these days. Further more in Europe it is a way of life a culture to them they grow up with the presence of alcohol so to them they don't use it as a way out or a way to rebel or even party its just something that is in their lives everyday. For the army yeah those guys should be allowed to drink i do agree to that. ANYWAY didn't you think half the fun when you were a kid was trying to get the alcohol and the fear of getting busted.

Answer 3

The drinking age is set by each state independently. The Federal govt enacted a law (forgot what its called. wikipedia is good for these types of questions) telling the states that if they lowered their drinking age lower than 21 yoa then they would withhold funding to that particular state. Most of this funding is highway funding. So all the states complied and most still have crappy highways.


I don't see why it is still 21 years old though. Having it that high only makes it a "forbidden fruit" thing to those 18 - 20 years old so they drink it excessively when they have it. In other countries it is acceptable to have a glass of wine or a couple beers with an evening meal... and by the time those kids that have been doing that throughout thier teens reach the partying ages (16 - 20) its not so much of a binge thing for many of them as it is compared to the US. I have friends from all over the world that I currently go to college with and they said its nothing like what they saw elsewhere as it is here. I just find it funny how we won't lower the age even when its apparent that countries with lower drinking ages have less drinking problems in their country.

Answer 4

I am under 21 and I drink very little. When I went to Panama I had wine a couple of times, and as soon as I got home, I went to a family wedding where everyone was served a glass of wine. It was weird not being able to have any because it was illegal. I didn't used to think that 21 was too high for alcohol, but now I think that it is a little ridiculous. At 19, I should be perfectly capable of deciding if I want to drink, and for binge drinkers, lowering the drinking age is not going to stop them anyway.

- Personally I do not think the "if you can die for your country, you can drink" argument carries much weight, considering nobody citing it has any intention of going to war. They just want to get hammered.

-What I should have said is, "At 19, I am perfectly capable of deciding to have a drink. Unfortunately, all 19 year olds are not. I just don't see it changing much when the binge drinking idiots reach 21.

Answer 5

Ha Ha i just turned 21 in australia and i have been able to go out to bars for three years :-)

the down side being all the emo's and other younins i have to dodge at the bars now :-(

but seriously, most places i think the "legal age" for a lot of things started at 21 (voting, drinking, etc.) but people as young as 18 were allowed to serve in the military (maybe started at 21 and got dragged back durring one of the great wars?) and this seemed unfair so in a lot of places the viting age got pushed back, and i guess the drinking age probably followed.

I think there is something wrong with being old enough that the government trust you with a gun in Iraq and you are allowed to act in pron movies but you are not old enough to be trusted with a beer? (but i reckon legal age military and adult entertainment should be at least 21)

Maybe US younins are just more imature, the ones that come here (e.g. to study) between 18 and 21 seem a little too pleased with being able to drink.

Maybe it is a conspiricy from the drug lords controling the government, if teens could drink legally they wouldn't buy as many drugs?

but i did most of my really stupid drinking at 17, don't know if that means the drinking age in Aus is "right" or just that it is more likely to be stupid if it is forbiden and covert. all of my stupid drinking from 18-19 was in situations where i could have got it legal-age or not. I'm pretty sensible now, but i'm not sure if i am just more mature, or i would have taken the same time to grow out of it regardless of when i started.

Answer 6

Because teenagers + alcohol is bad news. Period. It probably had a lot to do with car accidents involving alcohol, Teenagers obviously proved themselves not responsible enough to handle themselves even at 18 and 19. Also just because because people drink underage doesn't make it right but not being new to them isnt the point it's to stop people from drinking and driving when driving is still pretty new to them anyway. Next thing to be illegal - pregnancy before 18. If a girl is pregnant before 18 it probably is because she is a sauced up hussy so lets put two and two together here people! And God help the little bugger.

Answer 7

Well, honestly, at the age of 18 you are right, that is the legal adult age. However, do you really think that 18 year olds are responsible? Between 18 and 21 is the experimental/learning stage. Yes, underage drinking happens... but hopefully they'll get it out of their system and know what they can and can't drink and hopefully they will understand not to drive while intoxicated...
I've done a lot of learning about everything since I was 18... and I'm only 20.

Answer 8

here where i live in Canada, you can drive at 16, vote at 18, drink and smoke at 19 (province next to me, drink at 18)........i think driving at 16 is crazy....letting a 16 year old drive and mixing in will all the other drivers........now that is a weapon.....you need maturity to handle a car and a drink (not at same time).......and here now youth is considered up to age 24...GO FIGURE!!!!!

Answer 9

The only reason adulthood was lowered to 18 was the dummycrats need a broader nerd base for voting..
drinking age was raised to 21 was because enough fools ruined it for you.

Answer 10

Join the military. You can drink at 18 in the military.