Drinking and Drafting Essays

Drinking and Drafting Essays Drinking and Drafting Paper Drinking and Drafting Paper For two decades, young adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty have tried to come to terms with governmental restrictions placed on the legal drinking age in the United States of America. For most, this law seems to be quite senseless, especially since these same young people are required by law to register with the armed services in case of a necessary draft. Why is it acceptable for the government to not only allow but in some cases require our young adults to risk their lives for a country that places restrictions on their consumption and behavior? The simple answer is that it is not fair, nor does it make any sense. Restricting the adult activity of purchasing and drinking alcohol to adults age twenty one and over is not only a slap in the face to young adults, it actually produces more negative behaviors in the same people that the law was meant to help protect. While the main issue may seem to be that it is unfair or even wrong to restrict an adult’s ability to legally consume alcohol until the age of twenty one that is really just one of the underlying arguments for an even bigger argument. The main issue of restricting drinking in young adults is that it produces harmful and negative behaviors. Dr. Ruth Engs, Professor of Applied Health Science at Indiana University, has spent years studying this issue. In her article entitled â€Å"Why the Drinking Age Should be Lowered: An Opinion Based on Research†, Engs submits her findings after over twenty years of research regarding the legal drinking age. Engs believes that â€Å"Prohibition did not work [†¦] and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now†. Restricting alcohol consumption in young adults who are able to enter establishments with drinking, live on their own, and make their own rules does not stop them from drinking. They just do it illegally, and while doing so, develop bad habits. â€Å"Those under the age of 21 are more likely to be heavy sometimes called binge – drinkers† (Engs). Binge drinking leads to uninhibited behavior and over intoxication. These are not only health risks, but place people in dangerous situations. As dangerous as binge drinking can be, young men who enter the armed services face an even graver danger. With the nation currently at war, Americans sacrifice their young men daily to a government who will allow them to lose their life in the pursuit of the government’s battles. Why is it then that this same group of young people is denied the right to engage in an adult activity, that, if taught to be handled responsibly, can produce very positive, fun, and relaxing interactions between adults? Has reducing the legal drinking age benefitted anyone? According to research, it has not. Although study after study has been conducted, it seems that the evidence simply isn’t conclusive, as stated by Toomey and Wagenaar, â€Å"Of all analyses that reported significant effects, 87% found higher drinking ages associated with lower alcohol consumption. Only 13% found the opposite. The evidence is not entirely consistent: Almost half (46%) of the analyses found no association between the legal age and indicators of alcohol consumption† (3) Has reducing the legal drinking age made streets any safer? While the statistics may seem to imply yes, Engs points out that other factors are being ignored such as â€Å"education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments, etc. †. The big argument seems to focus on the young adults in college who end up binge drinking and partying to the point that they make themselves ill. Given the atmosphere that these young adults are in, it is inevitable that illegal drinking will take place. Toomey and Wagenaar also found that â€Å"as the legal age was lowered, the number of problems increased, and as the legal age was raised, the number of problems decreased† (5). It is safe to say that increasing the drinking age may appear to have positive effects, but studies have shown that it in fact is more detrimental to young people than helpful. What then, can we do as a nation to get the law makers to see that their foolish laws are counterproductive and are in fact endangering young adults more than protecting them and society? The first step is to analyze the data available and to see that the current system just isn’t working. If encouraging illegal drinking, irresponsible behavior, and binge drinking is what the government wants to do, then it has succeeded at this task. Instead of not trusting young people to drink responsibly, the same young people that are entrusted to protect our nation, we should teach responsible behavior and how to enjoy alcohol safely. Engs, Ruth. Should the drinking age be lowered to 18 or 19. Adapted from and in Drinking on Campus, CQ Researcher 8 (March 20,1998):257. Issues author Karen Scrivo. Retrieved April 12, 2007, from indiana. edu/~engs/articles/cqoped. html. Toomey, Traci and Alexander C. Wagenaar â€Å"Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000†; Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Vol. 63, 2002.