LEGAL DRINKING AGE

Legal Drinking Age in the State of Illinois

Legal Drinking Age in the State of Illinois

Introduction

In 1920, the alcohol prohibition was unsuccessful, the government decided to put a ban on alcohol in the Illinois which made it illegal to consume or possess the substance. This was a disastrous failure because the government lost a large amount of revenue from taxes and illegal alcohol trafficking began. Due to the illegal events, in the early 70s the legal drinking age was lowered to Twenty One. In 1988, the government threatened to cut off highway funds to states that did not re-raise the drinking age to twenty-one years of age. (Keen, 2008) This paper discusses we need to lower the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 in the state of Illinois.

Legal Drinking Age in the State of Illinois

To many people, this is ridiculous considering the following four points: at the age of Eighteen an American citizen is considered an adult which can go to war and die for their country; an American citizen can be sentenced to death as well as vote at the age of Eighteen which affects what happens to its nation; colleges around the nation are supporting the lowering of the drinking age to Eighteen because the administration would have more control over the amount of alcohol students consume; lastly, when I lived in Europe, the relation between no legal drinking age and the substantially lower number of alcoholics and drunk driving deaths when compared to the Illinois was apparent because responsible drinking was taught at a young age. The legal drinking age in the Illinois should be revamped to Eighteen years of age to respect the rights of young adults and protect their safety by teaching responsible drinking at a younger age.

At the age of seventeen one can actively enroll themselves in the Illinois Marine Corps. (Keen, 2008) One who joins the Marines is doing a faithful act of dignity in serving and protecting their country. Upon reaching adulthood one is rewarded responsibilities to show they are grown up and self sufficient. Drinking is not one of the responsibilities, “[…] we are driving drinkers underground. Eighteen year olds can do everything else - go to war so why not drink?” (Palicz). An Eighteen year old can be drafted to war against their will where they risk their lives, but cannot legally enter a bar. When going to war, there is always a possibility that a specially trained person may be killed or seriously injured. This is notably unfair when one thinks about the fact that “at Eighteen you can join the military and die for our country” (Pbourgeois). If a government can trust someone with a rifle, why can they not be trusted with an alcoholic beverage?

In the end it comes down to a trust issue that many individuals do not understand. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points this out by saying, “it's a civil rights violation and an insult to military members trained to kill but not trusted ...