...Learning Team Debate Paper Business Communication and Critical Thinking/BCOM 275 University of Phoenix Learning Team Debate Paper A topic with considerable debate is the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages. “Most cultures where alcohol consumption is legal have a mandated threshold age at which buying and/or consuming alcohol becomes permitted” (International Center for Alcohol Policies, 2011, para. 5). Currently, the United States has set the legal age to drink at 21. The age was once 18; however, society has changed its views concerning this issue. Because the legal drinking age changed to 21 there was an increase in mortality rate at age 21, increase in motor vehicle accidents, and increase in suicides. Even though 18 is considered an adult and a person should be able to make his or her own decisions, the drinking age should not be lowered because teens lack the maturity to handle alcohol and teens are at a higher risk of alcohol-related deaths. This debate has two sides as some people are for lowering the age to 18 again and some against. Many will argue that the average drinking age around the world is 18. According to International Center for Alcohol Policies (2011), “Minimum drinking and purchase ages in countries around the world range from 16 to 25 years of age, with 18 being the most common age limit” (para. 6). Others say that if a person age 18 is old enough to serve and die for his or her country, he or she should be permitted...
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...whether or not the national drinking age should be lowered to 18 years old. Evidence will be presented for both sides to determine if lowering the drinking age would lower dangerous underage drinking also. This research paper will be presented to our Iowan Representatives in Congress to decide whether of not having a minnimum drinking age of 18 would benefit the U.S. Background There are some states that have considered petitioning the drinking age. The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act requires that States prohibit persons under 21 years of age from purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages as a condition of receiving State highway funds (“The 1984 National”). South Dakota, a state that permitted persons 19 years of age to purchase alcohol, challenged the law (“South Dakota v.”) In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that Congress, acting indirectly to encourage uniformity in states' drinking ages, was within constitutional bounds (“South Dakota v.”) Twenty-three years after raising the legal drinking age to 21, Vermont lawmakers are revisiting the issue, despite the threat of losing highway funding if they lower the age minimum (“Vermont Considers Lowering”). Typically, when states flirt...
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...the minimum legal drinking age should be twenty one or eighteen. In the year of 1980 a law was passed that changed the minimum legal drinking age from eighteen to twenty one in order to decrease the amount of car crashes and fatalities and to keep alcohol out of the hands of an "irresponsible" age group (Ruth Streeter). Since the raising of the drinking age, more harm has been done than good and the drinking age should be lowered back down to eighteen, given some restrictions and changes. While each state was given the option of whether or not to support this act, the government threatened to cut highway funds if the states kept their drinking age to eighteen. It is strange that an eighteen to twenty year old can vote for our Nation's leader, risk their life fighting for our freedom, and be viewed as an adult, yet still cannot sit down and have a few drinks. At the age of eighteen one is considered an adult. This title of "adult" basically gives people the opportunity to make life changing decisions like voting, buying tobacco products, getting married, signing contracts, serving on juries, having abortions, and being drafted into or joining the military. Scientists claim that the pre-frontal cortex of the brain in which controls judgment is not fully developed until the mid twenties, which then leads to people against lowering the drinking age to claim that opportunities new "adults" take on are not necessarily needing full judgment like unsafe drinking would. So voting for...
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...| How Old is Old Enough? | Drinking Age | | | 11/11/2011 | How old is old enough to have an alcoholic beverage? | How Old is Old Enough? The legal drinking age is a topic that has come up for, and will continue to come up for, many years. The main question that needs to be answered is what is it that determines when a person is able to drink. Should we continue to base the drinking level on age or should we look at other characteristics. Those enrolled in the military have special benefits when it comes to drinking. In the year of 2011, the legal drinking age in the United States for all non-military people is 21 years of age. There is research for both sides of the spectrum. Some believe that the age should be lowered from 21, while others believe 21 is the perfect age. Then there are the people who say that the drinking age should be taken even higher than 21. Some want the drinking age to be as high as 25. Will lowering the drinking age stop teens from binge drinking? If we take the drinking age higher, will it simply cause rebellion in the teen world? Many feel as though the law of 21 before drinking saves 1,000 deaths per year. The numbers of teens killed in alcohol related accidents have dropped somewhere from 11-16 percent since the 21 law have been implemented. Taking on higher drinking ages allows for a low intoxication level. For instance, in Georgia, where 21 is the legal drinking age, the blood alcohol level to be considered intoxicated is...
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...Arguing Paper 1,542 Words Lowering the drinking age: If 18 equals adulthood, then what is 21? Imagine a world where an eighteen year old cannot get a ticket for simply having a beer in their hand. A world where young people can consume alcohol without worries of getting caught. The place I am describing should be the United States, but unfortunately many nations have lower drinking ages than we do. As a result, they have significantly fewer problems with underage drinking. Seems like reverse psychology, and that is because it is. Young people in America view alcohol as the “Forbidden Fruit”, the taboo of what is suppose to be their adult eighteen-year-old lives. If eighteen is considered adult, then why are they not allowed to purchase alcohol? In Europe most countries have lower drinking ages. Alcohol is a completely normal thing for a young person to be around. Think of two adolescent children, one child is told not to touch the cookie jar before eating dinner and the other has absolutely no restrictions on the jar. The child with rules tends to get in trouble for sneaking a cookie because he or she cannot have it. The child with no limitations tends to leave the cookie jar alone because cookies are available to him or her at anytime. Alcohol is the norm for young people in several countries, but our country’s teens are like the first child who was banned from the cookie jar, they drink alcohol mostly because they are not allowed to. Our nation has attempted...
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...| Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 | Sociology 100 | | John Max | | STRAYER UNIVERSITY 12/8/2012 Professor Taylor, Grace Individuals born prior to 1966 had the right to drink alcohol legally in the United States at the age of 18. In 1984 the United States changed its legal drinking age from 18 to 21. The legal drinking age in the United States of America should be lowered from the age of 21 to the age 18. Americans today are mature enough at the age of 18 to drink responsibly. Lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 will have a positive outcome for American society. Lowering the legal drinking age affects the country as a whole, as well as many countries around the world. When considering the issue in a global perspective view, the United States is only one of four countries that have a drinking age as high as 21. In just about every other country around the world there is little or no social pressure to drink. In the countries where the legal drinking age set to 18 irresponsible behavior is never tolerated. Young people learn at home from their parents and from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner. Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development states that development occurs in stages. The second stage which is known as the conventional level appears in the teenage years. Kohlberg believes that in this stage young people lose some of their selfishness as they learn to define right and wrong in terms...
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...Minimum Legal Drinking Age Debate Name University Affiliation Date There are many topics where people have different opinions whereby they either agree or disagree. An example of these topics is should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age. All states in the United States have their minimum drinking age stated as 21 although there are some exceptions in some states based on consumption at home, medical necessity, under adult supervision and other reasons. This paper is a synthesis on the ideas brought out on the debate of whether the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to a younger age. The position that I hold on the topic is that lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 would not make a difference or have a major impact on the society. I disagree with the law on lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 years due to some of the premises that have been brought forward to support the law. The Procong.org website explores the pros and cons of controversial issues such as whether the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to a younger age. I will examine three premises from the Procon.org website that support my position on this topic. One of these premises is that lowering the MLDA 21 would be medically irresponsible (Dejong, & Blanchette, 2014).I do not think that lowering the age from 21 years to 18 years should be considered as medically irresponsible. I agree that consuming alcohol below 18 years is harmful to the mental health of an individual...
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...The first and most obvious objection to the thesis is the common thought that highering the drinking age will lead to lower motor vehicle crashes under the influence. Many health experts and statisticians will say that a lower age lowers motor vehicle crash numbers, but this is purely based off observational data. Current studies on the effect of the minimum drinking age law and motor vehicle collisions are problematic in that there has not been a significant amount of research. This topic opened up more recently with the enactment of the Minimum Drinking Age Act. New studies started up and the current studies use observational data to make conclusions on data trends. However, many of these papers note that the spike in motor vehicle collisions...
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...Essay 2 Rough Draft Writing 123 Enthymeme: The minimum legal drinking age in the United States should not be lowered from 21 to 18 because the legal drinking age is in place to protect young people at a time when irresponsible behavior is prevalent. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Debate Since 2008, 136 college chancellors and presidents have signed the Amethyst Initiative, asking that the United States reconsider the minimum legal drinking age-21 (MLDA-21) laws that have been in place in all 50 states since 1984. The Amethyst Initiative argues that the MLDA-21 laws simply do not work, create a culture of binge-drinking, and that a policy of legalization and education would be more effective in protecting the safety of American adolescents. Elisabeth Muhlenfeld, the president of Sweet Briar College in Virginia and Amethyst Initiative signatory writes that 70 percent of the student population is underage. Teaching abstinence to students that blatantly ignore the MLDA-21 laws, or urging responsible behavior while drinking underage and breaking the law, are both hypocritical positions for the college administration to be in (Muhlenfeld 2). The Amethyst Initiative position is that current MLDA-21 laws have created a culture of heavy alcohol use by making drinking clandestine and extreme (Saylor 1). The statistics seem to back up this claim. Recent survey's of the 18-20 year old population by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that a full 72 percent report...
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...DRINKING AGE LIMITS INTRODUCTION Drinking age laws cover a broad spectrum of behaviors concerned with where, when and under what circumstances beverage alcohol can be purchased and consumed. The minimum legal drinking age refers to the minimum age at which beverage alcohol can be consumed. This may be different from the minimum age at which beverage alcohol can be purchased. Some countries, including Greece and Indonesia, focus their legislation solely on the legal age of purchase of beverage alcohol, and do not address a minimum age for consumption. Legislation for the minimum drinking age in United States varied from state to state over a decade ago, ranging from 18 to 21. Driven largely by the desire to curb traffic fatalities associated with alcohol consumption, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21, or risk losing federal highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid Act. By 1987 all states had complied with the 21 minimum age law. A large body of research exists regarding the impact of raising the minimum drinking age to 21 in the United States. Some of the research focuses specifically on whether the new law has had the desired effect of lowering traffic fatalities. Other studies have looked at the law’s impact on patterns of youth drinking especially at the college level and specifically binge drinking. This should be seen in context of a 28% drop in alcohol...
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...Opponent: Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Lozi Ms. Rhodes Comp 2 November 11, 2011 Opponent: Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Introduction At the present time, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) Law is set at the age of 21 years old. Proponents would have the law revoked and the Minimum Legal Drinking Age reduced. This paper intends to prove that the MLDA should remain as it stands. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age of 21 protects our youth and society as a whole. Evaluation of the Present MLDA: Success Drinking and Driving The present MLDA laws set at 21 are effective. “Almost every state has seen a decrease in teenage driving fatalities since the law went into effect” (Hamilton, 2008, para 3). Before the law took effect, many American youths died in car accidents that could have been avoided if this law had been in effect at the time. “Over the past 20 years, the number of 15 to 20 year olds killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes has been cut in half. The number of 15 to 20 year old drinking drivers involved in fatal crashes also has been cut in half” (Hamilton, 2008, para 15). One cannot argue with statistics. Maturity Factor Most teens would argue that we, as adults, really don’t know anything that they don’t already know. The youth of America have a sense of entitlement, and for the most part, we have created a spoiled generation. “Many youth experiment with unlawful drinking-often to disastrous effects” (National Household Survey On...
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...Laura Bruch 3/24/2013 Argumentative research paper Why Not Change the Drinking Age Back to 18? In the United States of America you are considered a legal adult at the age of 18 years old. You have all the major rights of a fully grown adult, voting, enlisting in the military, buying a house, buying tobacco products and many more. However there is one right that was taken away from the 18 year old adult back in 1984. In 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was put into place which changed the legal minimum drinking age from 18 years old to 21. Does this law mean that you are not really a mature adult until you are 21 or should the drinking age be brought back down to 18 when you receive all the other rights of a mature adult. It makes perfect sense that this right should be returned to young adults for plenty of reasons and also holds potential solutions to one of the nation’s biggest alcohol related problems. What does it mean to be an adult? United States law states that you are legally considered an adult at the age of 18. It makes sense right? You can buy a house, enlist in the U.S. military, get married and loads of other rights you don’t have until the age of 18. But United States law also states that all states must enforce a legal minimum drinking age of 21. We are the only major nation to have such a high drinking age. The drinking age wasn’t always this high though. On July 17th 1984 the national minimum drinking age act was passed which meant that 18 year...
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...For my argumentation paper I plan on discussing the drinking limit and why I feel it should be lowered to 18 instead on 21. There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to 18, like most of the world, or if it should stay at 21. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years; yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen, I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to 18. The most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are 21. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. My opinion along with a growing number of people across the country is questioning the reason of the 21 legal drinking ages. Throughout history, people have always wanted what they can’t have. Today, many teenagers experience different things in the world. Teens are always eager to try something different or new. One of the things that teenagers try is drinking alcohol. Around the 1980s many states changed the legal drinking age from 18 to 21. The theory behind this was, that if you increase the drinking age, people will drink more responsibly, because with age comes responsibility. Unfortunately...
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...Should Abortion be Legal? PHI 103 Should Abortion be legal? Part I: Thesis As we approach a presidential election, a hot topic has been abortion. The candidates have announced their stance of either being pro-choice or pro-life. Many people have based their choices on who they will vote for based on this stance, especially women. The United States of America was founded by those fleeing from religious persecution. In an article from the News Mail Bundaberg, the writer wrote that they did not “believe abortion should be used as a lazy form of contraception, but nor do I believe women's bodies should be legislated. Some say abortion is "playing God", but then so is all medicine” (unknown, 2010) Legalizing abortion guarantees that women receive the basic right to choose what happens with their own reproductive systems. Part II: Argument The right to choose is a big deciding factor in agreeing that abortion should be legal. There are certain instances in which a woman should be able to choose if they would like to continue with their pregnancy. For example, if a woman was raped and became pregnant, they should be able to choose whether or not they would like to have that child. Otherwise, they will end up with a child that they have to take care of that will be a constant reminder of that rape. Another instance is incest. If a woman is pregnant and the fetus is fathered by a family member, that woman should have a right to choose if they would like to have that child or...
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...Briana Roberts English 1101 11/13/2014 Argumentative Research Paper Draft Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Changed Back to Eighteen? The debate on the legal drinking age has been going on for many years. More mature adults say that the minimum legal drinking age should be kept at twenty-one. Young adults say that the minimum legal drinking age should be changed back to eighteen. There are many reasons that go behind the opinions of each. People believe that since the age of eighteen is the legal adult age in the United States of America that young adults should be able to make their own decisions on the consumptions of alcohol. Teens are still able to get alcohol due to parents, older siblings, friends, and other family members. Also, allowing eighteen to twenty year-olds to drink alcohol under supervision should lower the issue of underage drinking, and it will be good for the economy too. However, there are a lot of consequences that come with drinking at a younger age, such as eighteen year-olds have lower maturity than twenty-one year olds. Therefore, eighteens year-olds are more likely to get into negative alcohol and alcohol-related outcomes. With taking all opinions into consideration, you can see why this has been an ongoing debate on whether the minimum legal drinking age should be changed back to eighteen year-olds. I believe the debate should conclude on the prevision of allowing young adults to have the ability to make their own decisions upon alcohol consumption...
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