Hebdomadal 2

Teens and Drinking
It is quite evident that in the United States there is a problem with excessive drinking, especially increasing with teens. Even though legally teens cannot purchase or use alcohol, somehow it is ending up in their hands leading to many deaths. Not only can death occur from fatal car accidents, but also alcohol impairs a person’s thought process and teens end up doing a lot of other things they never would have done and regret later. I would argue that a large part of the problem is a cultural stigma placed on underage drinking.
Teens often have the desire to rebel against authority. The idea of challenging this authority extends to drinking at a party or with friends. It becomes appealing because it is something wrong and you know you shouldn’t do it. Now of course often it may not be the intention to get completely wasted when out drinking, but it happens often. In other parts of the world such as Europe, teens do not seek this same thrill from drinking, and I speak from personal experience. For them going out to the disco and having a drink is just that, having a drink. In Europe teens are not taught that drinking is something bad and something you cannot do. Instead, they learn how to drink responsibly as they drink at home with family. It is a common fact that in European countries they have lower rates of alcoholism and drunk driving. If Americans adopted this same attitude, teens would learn the limits of using alcohol and treat it as just a part of life.
Now of course it would be completely asinine to attempt to lower the drinking age at this time. Without this precursor of knowledge and experience, a lower drinking age would just cause more deaths and accidents. This is especially evident during the Vietnam War era when the drinking age was lowered to 18 in some states. Teens took no responsibility over their lives and caused many others to lose their lives as well. Instead, it is more important to spread a general philosophy and theory on alcohol use. Clearly this knowledge must come from home. It is the duty of parents to teach their children how to drink properly with control. My own parents have allowed me to try alcohol in our own home such as having some wine with dinner or trying something they are drinking. This of course is all dependent on how they were raised as well. Which leads to the ultimate question of how we can undo years of practice that have lead to millions of accidents and deaths? I couldn’t begin to offer some long process, but I know something has to be done. It is already illegal, and clearly that is not enough.