Ozzie, you article is very well informed and you present a contradiction of two different ideas well. Something that caught my attention was when you said “The reason teens get drunk is that from the beginning of time we have told them no and not to do it.” I think that since there is some truth to that, it is alarming that maybe our rules are encouraging rather than protecting against bad behavior. The article I attached is from the Atlantic and I think it agrees with your claim that rules just encourage bad behavior. You might be interested. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/how-helicopter-parents-cause-binge-drinking/492722/

I think you chose a really good topic. When you mentioned in the second paragraph that there is no way to entirely prevent it, I think that was a really good point because it is always going to happen, but there can be steps taken to make teens more responsible with it. Here is a link to a page that I think you might find interesting because of the topic you chose: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-1/5-14.htm

This is an interesting take on this controversial idea. It is an issue that many people interact with and have their own opinions about, and you combining your opinion with several other people’s, allowed me to see many different sides of the issue. https://www.healthyplace.com has some more interesting statistics around this particular issue, and might be interesting to you.

Ozzie, I found your input on your articles very intriguing. When you said, “While the number of deaths did decrease, it wasn’t solely because of the drinking age, it was a combination of seatbelt laws and tougher approaches to DUI’s,” I was very interested. Several people, in my personal experience, believe that the higher drinking age does affect the amount of crashes caused by drunk driving, however, it was interesting to see there were other reasons for the decrease in accidents. Furthermore, I found the articles you chose to support your statement were very informative. It was interesting to learn that binge drinking has become popular with young people because of the low drinking age. Several of my friends’ parents believe that social drinking is a skill young people need to learn and as a result of the lack of knowledge on the subject people binge drink. Here is a link to an article I found particularly interesting on the topic of binge drinking when out from under your parents’ roof. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/how-helicopter-parents-cause-binge-drinking/492722/ Do you think binge drinking is a result of the high legal drinking age, or because teens feel the need to be rebellious? I would love to hear more about this topic if you dig into more research on why kids binge drink and if the legal alcohol age is liked by the majority. Thanks for your input!

I liked how you provided context surrounding the issue of alcohol consumption and the legal age at which we are allowed to do so. The real world examples provided by the stories of specific individuals helped to support your claim about the changing of the legal age. I deeply agreed with your comparison of the legal driving age at sixteen and having to practice beforehand. I’d like to know more about your personal opinion on the matter, and maybe to include an opposing view as well in your discussion. Check out https://drinkingage.procon.org/ for more information on the opposite side!

Your writing was engaging and full of information. Thank you for sharing your opinions on the topic of teenage drinking. I liked when you said, “It makes a comparison of becoming 21 and being able to drink to turning 16 and being able to drive.” This is a great way to consider age-related behaviors and how people can be safe under the law. With both driving and drinking alcohol, it’s important to learn about the action before actually doing it. Your writing perfectly outlined this idea and made it easy to understand. However, I would love to hear more about why the drinking age should not be changed. It would even support your argument by contradicting your main point. Here’s some information on the cons of lowering the drinking age: https://drinkingage.procon.org/

I look forward to hearing more about what you have to say on this topic, and reading more of your writing in general. Thanks Ozzie!

Ozzie,
Your post was a very engaging read. You did a fantastic job at analyzing and presenting varying points of view. I think you raise a very important point when you discuss that education of the consequences of drinking alcohol would prevent more alcohol related accidents. In the United States, I think we have a distorted view of alcohol that promotes alcohol abuse. In most other countries with a lower drinking age, their drinking culture is often healthier and promotes a more responsible use of the product. I think that by educating teenagers about the consequences of alcohol consumption, we could create a culture that would respond more positively to a lower drinking age. Here is a link to an article that discusses possible reasons why we should lower the drinking age: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/6-reasons-drinking-age-lowered
This was a very nice read. Great job!

This is a very well written reflection. I love this specific part, “Teenage drinking has always been a concern because the brain is still developing. Yet the drinking age being out of reach for teenagers hasn’t stopped them.” This is very true and has been proven with many other things in life. For example, making abortion legal doesn’t prevent women from getting abortions, and in most cases makes it more dangerous for them. This is similar to drinking age, which you touch on. Kids will find a way to get there hands on alcohol, and you point out that having a higher drinking age might even encourage them to do so through rebellion. I recommend looking over this article to further learn about the drinking age and its effects on children. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-lower-drinking-age-debate-63724

Ozzie,
I really enjoyed reading this. I thought it was very interesting and I like that you prevented both an arguement for and against. I think that the drinking age should be lowered, because we are telling adults (18 year olds) that they aren’t able to make adult decisions until a certain age. They are able to enlist, but not able to sit down at a restaurant and order a glass of wine. I look forward to what you write next!
Halley