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Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered? |
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Written by Superhuman
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Wednesday, 23 January 2008 |
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Eighteen-year-olds can fight in Iraq or Afghanistan, vote in a presidential election, be executed by lethal injection, but they can’t order a beer in a bar.
While the logic of lowering the drinking age to 18 makes sense, critics say that alcohol use by people under 21 is a serious problem linked to auto deaths, violence, sexual assault and unwed pregnancies. Binge drinking is more prevalent in Europe, where the drinking age is usually 18. We love to watch films like “Animal House” and “Revenge of the Nerds” that show college party animals getting stewed to the gills every night instead of studying. Unfortunately, according to a federal task force on underage drinking, art reflects reality. More than 1,400 kids aged 18 through 21 are killed and 500,00 injured each year in alcohol-related accidents. Drinking contributes to more than 70,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape. More than 400,000 college students admitted to having unprotected sex while under the influence. As Dean Wormer said in “Animal House,” “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.” (Parade, August 12, 2007)
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