Argumentative Essay Sample: The Drinking Age Should Be Dropped To 18

You are an eighteen-year-old living in the United States of America, and you join the military and we're about to go off to war. Wouldn't you want to sit down and have a nice beer with your friends before you leave? We as Americans can join the military and go off to war at eighteen years old but aren't allowed to have a beer at 18 years old. I believe if you have the mental capacity to go to war and fight other human beings, you have the mental capacity to be able to drink alcohol.

In America we have a drinking age of twenty-one years old, this means if anyone under the age of twenty-one drinks alcohol they are doing it illegally. Also in America, you can join the military at seventeen years old and go off and die in war without ever having a beer. I believe if you join the military you should have special treatment when it comes to alcohol. If you are brave enough to join the military and have a very high percentage rate of dying at war then you should be able to drink alcohol if you so choose. A quote from the military time states “If you’re willing to die for your country, you should be able to drink a beer" This is a good sound bite, but it’s also a good policy. We give those who enlist (as young as age 17) weapons and teach them how to kill people — the ultimate power and responsibility — yet simultaneously agonize over them so much as touching alcohol. This makes no sense. Now you might say giving alcohol to underage military personnel can be dangerous because of their close proximity to firearms. Although also stated in this military times article “Opponents argue that allowing underage military drinking would risk a dangerous mix of alcohol and gun-toting troops. But the military severely restricts the access service members have to firearms on base, and past experience with on-base drinking under the age of 21 actually supports the idea of allowing younger troops to imbibe.”

I've personally given 4 years of my life to this country and served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. I've been to a combat zone in Baghdad Iraq, and I've had missiles and mortar rockets shot at me. now in those times of training and getting ready for combat I believe even though I was underage that I should be able to have a beer if I so, pleased. You may think I'm alone in my thoughts of underage drinking in the military but in the article posted through WIS News, they asked many individuals their views on underage drinking in the military. One response states “At ages less than 21 years people can legally: -own property. -will pay taxes. -have sex -get married -hold public office -be put to death for capital offenses -fight for our country But, they can't legally drink alcohol? Give me a break. All young people should be able to drink alcohol at the age of 18. The bigger issue here is the Federal funding that will be lost if the drinking age is lowered. Get your head out of the sand. Every weekend those young people that want to drink are drinking, legal or not.” Another response from this article states “ Yes, they should. They are old enough to go fight for our country and die. So, why is it so wrong for them to not be able to have a drink or two before they are shipped out? If I was in their shoes; I know I'd like to have a drink or two before I was sent somewhere I could die.”

I believe if you're brave enough to sign away your life for your country, and do whatever is asked of you either be in war or not then you should be entitled to things that normal people are not. This includes underage drinking if you are a part of the military, you should be given a special privilege to be able to drink alcohol, especially if the government thinks you're old enough to go off to war. Given the choice of what will you do, would you vote that underage drinking is a military spine, or would you say that it's not? I would tell you from my personal experience that it should be okay, just put yourself in the shoes of someone that is about to go off to war. Given the choice you should definitely say it's fine for underage military personnel do you have a couple of alcoholic drinks before they go off to war? They are brave enough to put their life on the line for you, so you can keep your everyday activities the same, and you can live in the land of the free. America is only the land of the free because of the brave, remember that next time you see an underage military person arguing for their right.