The drinking age in the United States has been very controversial in the last twenty or so years. That is because in 1987 the age was raised to twenty one. There are many arguments on whether we should lower it and many reasons from both sides, for and against it.
Alcohol consumption used to be mandatory back in the early days of our country due to the terrible quality of drinking water. It was mandatory because beer and wine had been distilled. Through the last two centuries alcohol has been a rich part of American culture but recently it has been played up to be a terrible drug which people get drunk off of. This is very unfortunate because so many countries around the world do not see it that way. Countries such as Germany allow children to begin drinking beer and wine from a young age because everyone has been doing it that way for thousands of years. In doing this children see alcohol as a normal thing. Unlike here in the United States it is a forbidden substance that is restricted until a certain age. So some people when they turn twenty one experiment with alcohol and drive drunk.
Many who are against lowering the drinking age claim that if we were to lower it, there would be a massive increase in teen drunk driving. Thus causing more innocent lives lost to alcohol consumption. This will most likely happen for a few years if we were to lower the drinking age. But it would eventually balance itself out and teens would not experiment and drink to get drunk.
The United States Law enforcement is lenient when it comes to drunk driving. A D.U.I in the United states you might loose your license for a few months where as in European countries you can loose it for years or even for life. Thus enforcing that it is alright to drink but not to drive while intoxicated. If we do this here it may help to eliminate more people who might consider drinking and driving also, it could help improve the way Americans think about alcohol.
I believe the United States need to change its views on alcohol, only then we will accept a lower drinking age. It is wrong when a young man can be drafted, sent off to war to kill people but can not have a beer. This country can change for the better and save a cultural trait that makes the United States what it is today.