The Drinking Age and Personal Responsibility

Twenty One! Growing up, a great many of us looked forward to our first legal drink. However according to a 2013 study by the Center for Disease Control, approximately 35 percent of teens drank alcohol within a 30 day window. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that four out of five college students use alcohol. Thus it appears that reaching the age of twenty-one is less about the experience of drinking and more about a coming of age where we are now legally permitted to drink. And therein is the issue. Reaching twenty-one years of age holds no cultural significance other than the legal consumption of alcohol. In the United States, an individual is recognized as an adult at the age of eighteen years of age in all aspects except one, alcohol. If you can be entrusted with the responsibilities of being an adult in every other aspect of your life at eighteen, why not alcohol?

The Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan. Prior to this act, the legal minimum age for drinking was dictated by the states. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, in the 1970's alcohol was a factor in 60% of traffic fatalities. Two-thirds of traffic deaths among 16-20 year olds were alcohol related. After the passage of the Minimum Drinking Age Act, alcohol related traffic fatalities have seen a drastic decline. This may provide the most compelling reason to leave the drinking age at twenty-one. Yet, this reduction has not occurred in a vacuum.

The minimum drinking age has not been the only change made in stopping alcohol related alcohol fatalities. Identifying a legal blood alcohol content (BAC) and the aggressive enforcement and severe penalties have had a significant impact on the reduction in alcohol related traffic fatalities. Likewise, science based education on the effects of alcohol, strong advocacy for designated drivers, and programs put in place by colleges and the military have also helped reduce alcohol related traffic incidents in recent years.

What are some of the advantages to lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen? First is to demystify alcohol. Rather than twenty-one being a magical age where alcohol becomes legal, the emphasis should be on eighteen being the age you are a full fledge adult citizen. The greatest responsibilies such as sitting on a jury and voting for our government are thrust upon our shoulders at the ripe age of eighteen. You are considered old enough to go into battle and die for our nation. Why then would you not be responsible enough to have a drink? Additionally, by reducing the age to eighteen, programs become available to all of our young men and women in college campuses and in the military, without fear of repurcussion for drinking illegally.

There is much to debate on this subject but the reality is that if we, at the age of eighteen are held accountable for our actions, there is no reason that we can not be responsible enough to enjoy our alcohol. Rather than having one milestone for becoming an adult and a second for being able to drink, it would be more beneficial if eighteen years of age was recognized as the age at which you became an adult. Ultimately, for this proposal to work, it would involve strict enforcement and hefty penalties regarding traffic laws involving alcohol. In a free society with a subject as subjective as this, it is better to defer to personal responsibility. Hold the individual responsible for their actions rather than restrict the entire adult population.

Gun Control

            Gun control laws have been a hot button issue across the nation in recent years, due to the recent violent shootings happening all over the country.  This has caused our many states to enact much stricter gun laws in order to try to keep them out of the hands of criminals and lower gun violence. However, as far as keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, I doubt this will have much of an effect.  All this will do is make the legal process to obtain a gun more difficult.  If I criminal wants a gun they’ll get a gun however they can.

            Also many countries with lax gun laws have an even lower rate of gun crimes then the U.S.  One country that is often cited to defend lax gun laws is Switzerland.  Among the 8 million citizens of the country, there are about 2.3 million firearms.  This is about one firearm per household.  In 2009 only 24 Swiss homicides involved a firearm, which is about 0.3 per 100,000 people.  The U.S. rate that year was about 11 times higher.  So we can see at least in this case, there is a correlation between lax gun laws and a low rate of gun violence.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0128/From-Brazil-to-Japan-gun-laws-around-the-world

Drinking Age

             The current legal drinking age in America is 21, as opposed to the original American drinking age of 18 as of 1984.  So why was the legal drinking age changed?  The idea that a person was not a real adult until 21 dates back hundreds of years to old English law, where that was the age where a person could vote, become a master of a trade, become a knight, and of course drink.  This linking of voting and other rights with drinking age carried over into American culture as well. Prior to World War II, the voting and draft age was 21, as well as drinking age.  But when WWII rolled around, Franklin Roosevelt changed the draft age to 18 to up the number of young men eligible for the draft.  This policy held until the Vietnam War when people became upset that a young man that could be drafted to fight for their country couldn’t even vote, so the voting age was changed to 18 to line up with the draft age, and along with it the drinking age.

            So why was the legal age changed back to 21?  The simple answer was that the number of drunken driving deaths increased dramatically among 18-20 year olds.  Due to this, President Reagan signed the aforementioned National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.  In the years following, there was a 62% decrease in drunken driving accidents among this age group.  The arguments for the 21 year old drinking age have only gotten stronger with new research revealing that the brain is not done fully developing until the age of 25, and that alcohol use can hinder these final stages of development.

            So the final question is how does Americas drinking age compare to other countries?  Many people believe that America should decrease the drinking age again because other countries have low drinking ages, especially in Africa in Europe.  But in fact America is not the only country with a higher drinking age.  America shares the 21 year old drinking age with Sri Lanka, Iraq, Oman, Mongolia, Samoa, and several others.  Also, in many countries in the Middle East and Africa it is illegal to drink at any age.  These include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Kuwait, and several others.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/19437/why-drinking-age-21

http://drinkingage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004294

Tiny little life

Who better to decide the fate of their little ones then their mothers? As many believe, a mothers should insurance that covers all aspects of planned parenthood.Women have a choice to abort their fetus, while following code section 18.2-71 to 76.2.

Code section 18.2-71 to 76.2 in Virginia, allows counseling to the mother, the women must have an ultrasound 24 hours before the procedure, and a written consent. The code also states that within the first trimester there is no restrictions. Second trimester must be in a licensed hospital, and in the third trimester, abortion is only allowed if it could cause death or mental impairment of mother.

Abortion is only covered in Virginia by insurances if there is life endangerment, rape or incest or fetal impairment. This leaves the mother and family to pay for the expense for the abortion.

By age 45, one in three American will have an abortion. Less than 0.5% of women will have any complications.

Many would argue that abortions should not be allowed. These people believe it is inhuman to kill a child. Many anti-abortionist want laws that take away the right for health care for these abortions and even end all abortion clinic. What happens when a fail abortion delivers a live baby? Then the law should be applied.

A video has surfaced where, “Anti-abortion activists have suggested that the videos constitute evidence that Planned Parenthood has violated the federal ban on selling fetal tissue for profit, as well as other federal abortion restrictions.” These acts were illegal.

Abortion is a difficult choice for a women. If she believes it is the right thing for herself and her family, who is to say she is wrong? Having a child changes a person life. There is the financial aspect of having enough money to support the child. It is much more expensive to have a child than it is to abort one. Another factor may be the mother is not ready for a child.

These choices should be left to the mother. If a women pays for her insurance, Planned Parenthood should be allowed. I do not believe abortion is right as a woman but each women are entitled to their own opinions.

Police officers have been taking advantage of their authority. From beating innocent people to actually killing innocent people. NBC news reported that a police officer shot an unarmed man because he did not have a front license plate. Officer Ray Tensing was charged with murder. CNN news reported that Freddie Gray died in police custody. It took six officers to hold Freddie down and put him in the van. Officers said Freddie was still able to talk when they took him out of the van he was not able to talk nor breathe. Autopsy was done and showed that he died from severe injury to the spinal cord. All of the six officers involved in the arrest were suspended. ABC13 news reported that a 42 year old man was shot by a police officer because he was being rude.

 From all the reports it seems like the majority of police officer's first reaction is to shoot the victim. Police officers should not take advantage of the fact that they are allowed to fire on the line of duty. The incident where the police officer shot a man because he did not have a license plate is no where  near acceptable. All of the incidents stated were not acceptable. Police officers are there to protect the people. How are the people going to trust the police if they are abusing their authority? I am pretty sure officers are trained on what to do when they proceed an individual. So why are they shooting first? Yes, I understand that it could be scary walking up to an individual not knowing if they are armed or not but to take it as for to kill the individual is not acceptable.

From all the incidents I also noticed that all the victims are African American.There has multiple incidents were the victims have been African American. So are the police officers just targeting the African American race? More specially are they targeting African American men? Fox news reported that black men are 25 times more likely to get shot rather than white men.

Women's Payroll Gap

I honestly did not understand why women complain about the the gap. I grew in a family that the man is the bread winner. I also learned that the father always made the last decision in the house, like food or vacation day, because he made the most income. Sooner or later, I noticed this gap of decision making was not fair. 

When I started college I could see every student wanted to succeed, no matter of the race or sex of the student. You should've heard in your lifetime that men get paid more than women. Many people would answer "oh, women are weak" or "They choose to be a mother and a part timer".  That's not the case, for example, "in 2013, among full timers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid". Of course, every state is different equity of payment. Washington DC is one of the best, where women get paid 91 percent of what men were paid in 2013 but in Louisiana, the worst state, women were paid 66 percent of men were paid 2013 (www.aauw.org). 

The women in United States are not only facing payroll gap in men occupations but female occupation. For example, a career of an elementary and middle school teacher of computer programming, men will still get paid more than women in female-dominated, gender balance and male dominated career. What I think the government should do? Something very simple, the policymakers can update the Equal Pay Rights from 1963 to take action for equal pay for any occupation  (www.aauw.org). 

Herritage or Hate?

After the numerous outcries for the removal of the Confederate flag, I was very thankful and proud when our government officials came to the decision to lower the flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State Capital grounds. 

After the huge debate surrounding the removal of the Confederate Flag in South Carolina, I have seen more Confederate Flags here in the Woodbridge area, than ever before. When I see these flags, I don’t get scared, but I feel more so angry. Although I am a bi-racial individual with a white father, I still associate the Confederate Flag with hate, disrespect and inhumanity, and not part of my heritage.

Too many people remind us that the Confederate Flag honors those who fought during the Civil War. But, lets be clear, what was the basis of the Civil War? Hmmm… To most, upholding slavery should not be seen as a victory, especially in the eyes of the African American community. Today, lives are still be taken because of an artifact that is synonymous with hatred.  Celebrating heritage should not hurt any group nor individual.

I personally feel that the Confederate Flag should not be flown anywhere, however, I recognize that the government is unable to regulate that. But, what they can regulate is the removal of it on any government grounds, which represents all people. People should never have to feel threatened or “less than” when they walk around a public place… especially a place like the state capital grounds! I wonder if the Charleston 9 victims could see Dylan Roof’s  pictures as he poses with his “heritage symbol" as pride or hate. Displaying ones pride should never make anyone feel inadequate.