Another angle: does lowering the drinking age decrease binge drinking? Wisconsin's

[alamode]

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It is ridiculous that an 18 year old can be drafted and forced into battle but cannot buy a beer at a pub, it is also outrageous that an 18 year old can vote in elections and is legally considered an adult, but cannot buy any form of alcohol. </p>

<p>The U.S.'s drinking age of 21 is the highest in the world–we also have the highest drunken driving rates in the world, giving at least some strength to the argument that the higher drinking age does NOT lower drunken driving.

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<p>i think the problem is not simply the drinking age but the drinking age in relation to the age of legal adulthood. </p>

<p>between the ages of 18 and 21, if an individual is caught drinking he can be tried as an adult. doesn’t that seem a bit hypocritical? you are penalizing this individual as if he is an adult because he broke a law that prevents him from participating in an activity meant for adults. </p>

<p>if you can be legally persecuted as an adult and drafted by the army, you should be able to drink. </p>

<p>this argument doesn’t necessarily mean that the drinking age should be lowered, only that the drinking age should be consistent with other laws. by all means increase the age of legal adulthood to 21 and it’d be much more fair than it is now. however, seeing as i don’t think it’s been proven that our unusually high drinking age has been beneficial in preventing deaths and drunk driving, it would probably make more sense to lower it.</p>