Let me begin by saying this article will be very sarcastic.
So you're in the United States. Welcome! Here in America, we ooze declarations of personal will, individual choices, and freedom. Unless you're under 21. Here in the U.S., we have one of the highest drinking ages in the world.
We are one of only 12 countries with a drinking age of 21 or more. That puts the USA in the same list as Iraq, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, which all also have 21 as a drinking age. While progressive countries like Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and Denmark all boast drinking ages of 18 or younger, America and Iraq fall long behind.
So, if you don't feel like moving to Toronto or Sydney (or nearly any first world country), I have compiled a list of all the things you can do while you're waiting to turn 21.
1. Have a Child
In America, you can have multiple children before you can have your first legal drink. In fact, if you have a child at 16, you would have a five year old child before you could have a drink at a bar. Which means you could raise a young child to school age, and have a second child in preschool, all before having a seat at the bar.
2. Die in a War
The USA has quite the impressive military. In fact, at 18, every male has to register for the reserves; or sign up to be in a military branch. If the entire argument is that you aren't mature enough to drink before 21, are you responsible enough to donate your life? Dying over seas in war before 21, fine. Having a drink before 21, nope.
3. Buy a House
Honestly, if you can afford to buy a house at age 18 I have nothing but respect (and envy) for you. But it is a big responsibility. Owning a house not only comes with lots of upkeep, but taxes, mortgages, and lots of bills. Because in America, it's alright for teenagers to make giant financial decisions, but not legal for them to have a beer in their new home.
4. Get Married
At age 18, you can hear those wedding bells ring, kiss your love, and clink champagne glasses at your reception. Wait. Nope. At age 18, you can bind yourself into a lifelong marital commitment, but the champagne part just isn't going to legally happen. In some states, with parental permission, you can even get married at age 16. If you get married young enough, you could have your 5th wedding anniversary and still not be able to drink.
5. Choose Your Adult Career
It seems as though it's an expectation now for American youth to attend college following their senior year of high school. It's amazing that at age 17, high schools still require students to ask to use the bathroom, have limited licenses, and can't even go to certain shopping malls without a chaperone - but are still expected to choose their career for the rest of their lives, and study it.
But - no drinks.
6. Convict Someone
So you're not 21. But there is something you can do -- jury duty. Which means that depending on your feelings and evidence towards the selected case, you could totally convict someone. In America, you can help send someone to prison before you can have a mint mojito at a bar.
7. Help Choose The Leader of The Free World
If you're 18, you can vote. You are old enough, trusted enough, and established enough for the US government to trust your views on this issue. But yeah, you know where we're going with this.
So, What's the Point?
The point is this: having a drinking age of 21 is insulting to young Americans. When you can have a wife, a child, and die fighting for your country all before having a legal drink, something is wrong. It's not a highly talked about issue, but it should be. Should the drinking age be lowered in America? Or should all of these other issues have higher required age? America needs to follow the trend of the rest of the free world by having a lower drinking age.
