Lowering the Drinking Age | Teen Ink

Lowering the Drinking Age

November 25, 2009
By john112233 SILVER, Sussex, Wisconsin
john112233 SILVER, Sussex, Wisconsin
7 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Dear Governor Doyle,

I’m an 18 year old student in Wisconsin. I am writing to you in hopes of lowering the drinking age of alcohol to 18 years old with the use of a ‘drinking license’. I am aware the state is getting money from the federal government for highways in exchange for making the drinking age 21. When kids turn 18 they are legally an adult and take on adult responsibilities like voting, joining the armed forces, and the ability to get credit for loans and credit cards.

I think the idea of a drinking license should be able to lower the drinking age to 18. To get a license people would be required to take a class. In the classes, kids would be taught about responsible drinking and the consequences of drunk driving and health risks. The price of the class could bring in revenue to help offset the loss of federal highway money. Also, having a drinking license similar to a driver’s license will simplify the process of checking for fake identification by having two I.D. cards to cross-reference. On college campuses and in high schools, underage drinking occurs even with a 21 legal age. Letting these young adults consume alcohol after being educated will bring alcohol out of the dangerous underground of binge drinking, and into the public were consumption can be more regulated and safer. In public, other people are around could stop an intoxicated person from driving.

Young adults should get the freedom to consume alcohol if they choose. Lowering the drinking age with the use of an alcohol license should restore this freedom. The pros of responsible drinking ? like education and higher regulation greatly outweigh the loss of highway money which can be replaced through fees acquiring the license.


Sincerely,


John


The author's comments:
Being 18 is being a full adult in my mind.

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This article has 3 comments.


on Mar. 14 2016 at 10:39 pm
ambivalent SILVER, West Bend, Wisconsin
7 articles 0 photos 180 comments

Favorite Quote:
everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. [sylvia plath]

you have an interesting POV. will continue to think about this

Cerrybumble said...
on May. 9 2013 at 5:00 am
  I really like your idea, and the subject in general is quite interesting. From what I’ve seen amongst my friends, those who have parents with really strict opinions on alcohol (not even a beer until the age of 18, which is the drinking age over here) go wild for the stuff when they’re finally allowed to drink. The ones who’ve grown up with a glass of wine on special occasions, on the other hand, don’t. They don’t engage in binge drinking to the same extent, and thereby do way less damage to their bodies in the long run. Of course, this doesn’t hold true in every case, but I just thought I’d bring it up. 

on Jul. 5 2012 at 8:08 pm
TheSihlouettedMan BRONZE, Hinckley, Ohio
2 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There is something more to the knowledge that allows us to see. Some rely on logic to be their eyes. Others believe they know what logic is. But to be completely faithful in logic, you must someday realize that it points to the incomprehensible."

Okay, I will say you have an interesting way of thinking. The idea is clever but I still remain on the side of keeping the law the way it is. It is not only a matter of responsibility but also a health risk proven by science studies. The human brain is not finished growing until the age of 21 and before then it is dangerous to even risk consumption of alcohol. Also, although not quite as relate to the idea of a class focused directly on the subject, health classes are already informing people of the responsibility of drinking but some people still don't get it. In honesty, my thinking is unchanged.