To lower or not to lower the drinking age...

As I'm getting older, I am being exposed to more and more things that were unacceptable at a younger age. Among these things are drugs, alcohol, and foul language. Over the years, there has been controversy over the topic of lowering the drinking age to 18. Many individuals believe that if you are old enough to be drafted for a war, then you should have the opportunity to drink as well. Others believe that the drinking age should remain at 21. I am split on this issue. In some circumstances, it only makes sense for the drinking age to be lowered. However, for as many reasons as there are to lower the drinking age, there are as many reasons to keep the drinking age at 21. The brain of a human is not fully developed until around the age of 21. Therefore, a teenager’s thought process is not going to be the same as an older adult when drinking. The teenager will have less control as well. The change in physical behavior from a teenager simply should not be mixed with alcohol. Another reason to leave the drinking age at 21 is that the younger that an individual starts to drink; the more likely they are to become an alcoholic. So what are your reasons for allowing someone at eighteen to drink? Well, I agree that anyone that can go to war should have the right to drink. Why should someone be able to fight for our country, yet not be allowed to have a drink when they choose to do so? Also, every 18 year old now has the privilege of doing everything else as a legal adult, with the exception of consumption of alcohol. I can vote for the leader of our country, go to a club whenever I so choose, buy a lottery ticket wherever they sell them, and marry the love of my life. I was given all these responsibilities when I became 18, so why is alcohol the only privilege I am left without? When I go into a club and they have to put big black x’s on my hands to show that I’m underage, it is embarrassing and demeaning. This could be prevented if the drinking age was lowered and we were treated more like adults.