If you asked most young adults what their least favorite parts of being in this age bracket are, one of the most likely responses – other than the constant worry of what the hell they’re going to do with their life – would be that the drinking age is 21. The drinking age in the United States has been 21 since the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, which raised the age from 18 to 21. This has remained the law of the land for 40 years, much to the chagrin of young adults and college students nationwide. But I say it’s about time to change this outdated law and lower the drinking age to 18 again.
Now, some of you are probably reading this and thinking that I’m only writing this so I can go get wasted at Ted’s or the other local watering holes around campus, but I promise that my argument has nothing to do with that. My first main point is that raising the drinking age to 21 has not done anything to reduce underage drinking. If anything, drinking culture has become larger than ever. Raising the drinking age to 21 incentivizes teenagers to seek out other ways to obtain alcohol. One of the most common methods to do so is purchasing a fake ID, which is easier now thanks to the many websites selling these powerful pieces of plastic. But purchasers take a huge risk in buying these, as getting caught using one is a felony in Connecticut and most other states, which is a horrible thing to have on one’s permanent record. It’s also worth noting that there’s a psychological aspect in underage drinking, as there’s a thrill that comes from breaking this law. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would greatly reduce the use of fake ID’s and not give college students a reason to break the law and give themselves a criminal record.
Next, there are far worse things than drinking that young adults already have the right to do at 18. The most notable of these rights is the ability to purchase a gun. I fail to see the logic in believing that someone at 18 is responsible enough to buy and use a gun but not responsible enough to buy a 12-pack of Natty Light or whatever the kids are drinking these days. If anything, the age to purchase a gun and the drinking age should be swapped, but I doubt the NRA would ever let that happen (they may even come after me for even suggesting that!). Additionally, men who turn 18 are required to sign up for Selective Service, which registers men for a potential military draft if the U.S. ever needed one. If I or anyone from my generation ever gets sent overseas to some country we’re invading for oil, the right to walk into our local liquor store and make a purchase seems like a pretty fair trade-off to me.
Lastly, it’s important to consider the circumstances of why the drinking age was raised in the first place. As a social conservative, Ronald Reagan faced pressure from organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving to raise the drinking age. In order to do so, Reagan bullied states into complying with the law by threatening to reduce their federal highway funding by 10%, which sounds like a tactic that I’m surprised Donald Trump and his cronies didn’t employ more often. Reagan showed how out of touch he was to the average American by forcing this into law, which isn’t surprising given that he built his legacy on destroying the middle class. Lowering the drinking age back to 18 would be a great way to right one of the longest-lasting wrongs of the Reagan administration and also revive a necessary discussion about how his administration should be viewed as one of the most disastrous and impactful of the last 50 years – more on that another time.
In summary, there’s no good reason to keep the drinking age at 21. Lowering the drinking age would not lead to the moral decay that the Christian right would claim it would, but rather encourage young adults to drink more responsibly and safer. Plus, the meltdown from the Fox News outrage machine would be legendary.