Lowering the drinking age to, we'll say, 19 might actually be a good thing for America. Let's consider, first, America's past. We'll start with the 1800s when people figured out that alcohol was probably not such a good thing. Soon, the 1900s rolled around and, sadly, Prohibition was instated. Eventually, America was allowed to drink again, and in the late 1960s alcohol ages were reduced to 18.
Then, Mothers Against Drunk Driving took the drinking age back up to 21. So, in general, we'll come to the conclusion that the United States has gone through some alcohol panics. I'd argue that we're in the midst of another little panic, and it involves our age group.
Adults think all we do is binge drink in high school and college. Yeah, some of us do. A lot of us don't. But for those of us who do, there might be a reason why. Let's just consider our society and how "forbidden" alcohol is in high school and the first years of college. This "forbidden fruit" that we'll call alcohol makes us interested in drinking. I sure was.
So perhaps the best thing for America would be to let its kids drink - just a little - with their parents, privately in their homes. I'm not saying that parents should provide their kids with alcohol to go to a party or to have a party at their house, but I'm pretty sure a sip here and there won't breed thousands of alcoholic kids.
