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By: Nick Martinez
The political cartoon below supports the side that says the drinking age is fine where it is and should not be changed. The image shows three borderline adults trying to buy alcohol, and a store clerk doing the right thing and telling them no. In paragraph 2 of the editorial to the right it states that if the drinking age was lowered, people still in high school would be able to buy and drink alcohol. In the picture below, the kids are anywhere between 16-18, which would mean that they are still attending school. If the drinking age was lowered, and even one of these people were 18, they would be able to buy alcohol and do what they wanted. The caption says "Well I don't care if your combined age is around 50... I'm not selling you alcohol." This caption shows the kid's ages, and how minors would be able to get ahold of alcohol and potentially abuse the substance.

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By: Dylan Schultz
When teens reach the age of 18, it is such an exciting experience for that person. Those double digits specify whether you are an adult, or a minor. When they are legally considered an adult, they obtain the right to vote, do taxes, etcetera. Although those people are considered adults and no longer teenagers, they are not entitled to the right to drink an alcoholic beverage. The legal drinking age is 21.

The legal drinking age should be lowered to 18 years old because when a person turns 18, a person is entitled to adult rights, this will reduce the need for fake IDs, and it will teach young minds responsibility and how to be an adult.

When a person turns the age of 18, you are legally considered an adult, yet revoked of the right to consume an alcoholic beverage, yet person is able to do taxes, vote, and enlist in the military. As said by Monica Acevedo (The drinking age should be lowered), “...we are trusted and believed to be able to comply with these opportunities and responsibilities without any issues. After all, we are adults, right?” A person can decide the fate of the United States of America before they can drink a beer. A person is allowed to fight, and perhaps die, for our country, yet they cannot enter a bar and ask for a “whiskey on the rocks.” They can be charged for any crime as an adult, but cannot buy a case of beer. The nation trusts them with adult like tasks and activity, yet do not trust them to drink.

In 1984, the minimum drinking age was finalized at 21, which explains why the statistics for reported drunk driving accidents increased in the 1980’s. This is not a coincidence. In the article, “Should the U.S. lower its drinking age?” Brandon Griggs states “In general, the younger people start to drink the safer they are,” Many underage drinkers (perhaps 16-20, assuming they had their licenses to drive a car to get into these accidents) have cars and are influenced by the, at the time, old drinking age and a drive for rebellion to drive an automobile and got into these accidents.

Many people agree that the responsibility of drinking must be taught to young adults, yet say lowering the minimum age requirement will not assist very well. Brandon Griggs, the author of “Should the U.S. lower its drinking age,” said in the article, “"I think 18 is viewed (by most countries) pretty much as a reasonable age limit,” Going back to the first piece of evidence in the last paragraph, lowering the age would help teach the responsibility to young adults and eliminate problems of irresponsibility in the long run.

Lastly, the need for a fake ID would especially be minimized since a majority of the time, most people use it to buy booze and beer. Stated by Monica Acevedo (The drinking age should be lowered), “ ‘If you prohibit people to doing something until they are 21, the natural inclination is to be a little bit rebellious when they’re young, (and) then to overindulge,’ Jarchow said,” The drinking age would almost depress the necessity for a fake ID and rebellion, which is found to be a problem in the United States.

Others may say the drinking age of 21 for sure will restrict a teenager from obtaining alcohol, but this is not the case. Fake IDs are a huge necessity to buy alcohol, and many underage people have one. Dropping the drinking age to 18 would almost destroy the necessity for a fake ID.

As of a solution, we should drop the age fully to 18. When a person turns 18, they are able to enlist in the military and witness bloody murder and war, yet cannot consume alcohol. An 18 year old can be charged for drunk driving as an adult, yet still be charged with underaged driving. Perhaps the nation can set certain restrictions, such as how much a person can consume until it is to the point that it is considered illegal.

At the age of 18 spawns responsibilities and different tasks, yet are revoked of the privilege to drink. The nation trusts us with the responsibility of voting for the most qualified president, yet does no trust us to drink alcohol responsibly, which is completely unreasonable.

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By: Nick Martinez
The cartoon below shows how unfair being an adult is in America. In paragraph 3 of the pro change article to the left it says "When a person turns the age of 18, you are legally considered an adult, yet revoked of the right to consume an alcoholic beverage, yet person is able to do taxes, vote, and enlist in the military."  Someone is allowed to join the military and fight for the country at 18, but they are not allowed to buy or drink alcohol until they are 21. In the cartoon you can see the soldiers listing various weaponry that they are allowed to use such as "Assault Rifle", "Pistol", and lastly "Grenade Launcher", but the last soldier says with a confused look on his face "But no beer until we're 21". These images and quotes show how messed up the drinking laws are because, these young men and women are allowed to literally put their lives on the line for this country, but they could not walk into a bar and get a drink.

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Stop the distribution of alcohol to teens 

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Stop the distribution of alcohol to teens 

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By: Cassandra Alcazar
If the legal drinking age was lowered to 18, think about how many more unnecessary problems there would be in this world. People even at the age of 21 are still very irresponsible,  if it was lowered things would only be worse. People already drink and drive and come across various incidents due to being under the influence with alcohol, and lowering it would just give immature teens more of an excuse to lack cautiousness.

Giving someone who may still be in high school the right to buy and drink alcohol can be such a dangerous situation, just think of all the stupid things teens already do and imagine them being able to buy alcohol. If that were the case, there would be many more issues on high school campuses that can possibly even involve underage kids getting a hold of it.

Drinking is too widespread amongst adolescents. In the article, “Sorry, college students, but the drinking age should stay at 21” written in January of 2016 by German Lopez, he states that, “About 88,000 Americans died on average each year from alcohol-related causes from 2006 to 2010.” People take way too much advantage of alcohol and it is not worth the consequences. When people begin to drink, they are way more likely to stick themselves in more dangerous situations.

When someone drinks, whether they are underage or not, they are taking many risks. In the article, “Alcohol: Teenage & Underage Drinking” written in 2018 by The Cleveland Clinic, they state that, “alcohol affects memory and learning skills of those who drink heavily as teens.” Too much alcohol has a huge impact on school performance, which goes back to the statement that giving alcohol to someone still in school is not a very good idea. Once someone is exposed to drinking at such a young age, they are more likely to take advantage of alcohol when they get older.

Teens usually start to drink because they want to have the experience and know what it is like. Alcohol goes way further than impairing memory in a teenager as opposed to being an adult. In the article, “Alcohol Can Rewire the Teenage Brain,” written in October of 2018 by Tara Haelle, she states that, “teens who drink heavily lose more white matter in their brain over time than teens who don’t… Alcohol also can hurt a portion of gray matter in a region known as the prefrontal cortex, Faden says. This area is used for attention, concentration, self-control and making decisions.” Alcohol can be harmful to anyone, but it is very important to wait until you are of age because you never know the specific effect it could have on you.

Some people think that if the age was lowered there would be a less amount of accidents caused by being under the influence and people would be more safe.  In the article, “Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?” written in October of 2018 by procon.org, it explains the idea that, “Allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol in regulated environments with supervision would decrease unsafe drinking activity.” That argument would be wrong because if people past adulthood, at the age of 21, still are not responsible enough to be able to know when they should not be on the road, what gives anyone the idea that someone younger would know any better?

Alcohol is dangerous, and the risks are too high; parents need to emphasize the idea to their own children that underage drinking is not “cool” and it is most definitely not safe. There is no actual bright side to drinking whether someone is underage or not, it is unsafe and can damage ones health. It will make people do things they would never in a million years do if you were never exposed to alcohol in the first place.

It is about time people actually take this issue serious. Does something have to happen to a child in order for parents to become proactive? People eligible to drink need to stop giving underage people alcohol because, a majority of the time, it does not result in a good situation.