Should the Minimum Drinking Age Be Sixteen?

Devon Jones

October 7, 2014

Critical Thinking

Should the Minimum Drinking Age Be Sixteen?

The current minimum drinking age in all states is currently twenty-one. People now are asking should the minimum drinking age be sixteen in all states. The stance I take on this controversial issue is one not in favor of changing the minimum drinking age to sixteen. Why is the minimum drinking age twenty-one in the first place? Dating back to common English law, twenty-one has been the age seen when a person becomes a full adult. Things such as voting and becoming a knight were, among other things allowed at the age of twenty-one. Stepping back and thinking critically about this controversial topic, has allowed me to not be bias about the subject. My first reaction is yes, of course the minimum drinking age should be sixteen, but after thinking critically about it there is no reason why the minimum drinking age should be change from twenty-one to sixteen.

Why is the legal age twenty-one and not sixteen, in my opinion sixteen is not an ideal time for teenagers to be experimenting with alcohol because at the same time they are beginning to drive for the first time constantly. This could turn into a major issue is the legal drinking age was lowered to sixteen. Teenagers are statistically more prone to car accidents, and this tie directly with beginning to learn the rules of the road and driving on them. Mixing a lowered drinking age to the same age as acquiring a driver’s license for the first time could be a fatal mistake. Why risk increasing the fatality rate for teenage drivers when they are already so high.

One cannot say alcohol is good or bad because you honestly could not make that statement. One could argue that alcohol, if not used in excess, is not bad for your health. While on the other hand, while is still possesses the chance of having bad effects on your health, one could say it possesses no bad health implements at all. It comes down to who is...