Recently, there has been a huge debate going among people all over the country, especially university presidents, over whether or not the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. While it seems college students in general tend to think that this would be a good idea, there is much opposition to this. One opposing organization is Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which argues that it would cause a more dangerous environment and thus should not be supported.

The side that supports lowering the drinking age often cites the many legal rights we gain upon turning 18 in American society. These include the right to vote, smoke and buy pornography. Most importantly, it means we are allowed to enter the armed services and thus serve our country. Joining the military means that we are old enough to carry a rifle and be shot at by enemy combatants. Basically, this means we are old enough to die for our country, but not old enough to drink a beer. Another common complaint is that the drinking age in Europe is lower than it is in the United States. Many would argue that they have less binge drinking in their culture because people are more accustomed to drinking and therefore drink more socially.

The other side of the argument thinks that things would not get better, and may even get worse if the drinking age is lowered to 18. For one, it would be a very difficult transition for society, and many 18-year-olds would not know how to properly handle that responsibility. Also, there is no evidence that American society would behave anything like European society with a lower drinking age in place. In Europe, they have had centuries of that way of life and also, many argue, live at a much more laid back pace than we do in the United States, generally doing things in much more moderation.

Basically, what we are getting at here, is that while everyone is throwing out these different options and ideas, there is really no way to know what would happen if the drinking age were lowered to 18 without actually trying it. Maybe it would lead to less binge drinking and an overall safer environment. But it could instead lead to more drunk driving among high school and college kids, thus doing much more harm than good.