Are We Adults?

If adults between 18 and 21 can still be trusted enough to fight in wars, if they can be trusted enough to vote for our leaders, and if they can be trusted enough to have sex, then why can't they be trusted with a glass of wine? By law, anyone 18 years and older will be tried as an adult in court, is allowed to vote, and is required to pay taxes. On one's 18th birthday the law no longer views him or her as a child yet they are restricted from many places of social activity. Bars and many dance clubs are strictly for those 21 and over due to the legal drinking age in America, so many legal adults are not permitted entry. Clearly a discrepancy exists between an 18 year old adult and a 21 year old adult; however, since they are all viewed by law as equals shouldn't they have the same privileges? Obviously certain laws that regulate activities by age are necessary. Voting, alcohol, and driving should not be available to people of every age because of the amount of responsibility these activities require. However the segregation between younger and older adults is unwarranted.

Up until 1984 the legal drinking age was 18, however Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) spurred a campaign to raise the age limit to 21. They succeeded with the passage of the National Minimum Purchase Age Act in 1984. (Shamed, Legal Drinking) The law aimed to lower the number of drunk driving accidents, which it has done, but only by a small margin. However, what it has also done is reduce the rights of citizens between the ages of 18 and 21.

Americans hold personal freedom to be an undeniable right. The right to drink one's self into a drunken state still falls under the personal rights category; however, this basic freedom is restricted by the implementation of the 1984 law. Instead of being able to have complete control over one's life when they reach the legal age of adulthood, citizens are forced to wait an additional three years for an equal level of freedom. A need for drinking regulation definitely exists, yet it needs to coincide with other laws defining adult privileges. All rights would be gained simultaneously and lowering the legal drinking age to 18 would erase the discrepancy that now exists.

Furthermore the temptation to undermine the law through underage drinking would be greatly decreased. For many college students that fall in between years of legal adulthood and legal drinking age, the desire to drink is spurred