Binge drinking has become subject to much discussion in the media upon the launch of the Amethyst Initiative in July 2008. Their goal is to start conversation regarding the current legal drinking age of 21, because, in their opinion, “twenty-one is not working.”1 Within the United States, binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks in one sitting for a male and four or more drinks for a female. Across the US, such behavior frequents on and around college campuses, and is becoming more and more prevalent in people below the age of 21. Ultimately, binge drinking is the result of a lack of accountability and responsibility in young adults today.
To find a solution, one must analyze the causes of a problem, and like that of the Amethyst Initiative, I feel looking at the standards set by law is a good place to start. “Underlying minimum age legislation are the assumptions of American prohibitionism: alcohol consumption is undesirable and dangerous; it typically results in problem behavior; and drinking in any degree is equally undesirable because moderate social drinking is the forerunner of chronic inebriation.”2 According to this view, alcohol contains a negative connotation, and, therefore, should kept out of the hands of children. Legally, in most states one is considered an adult at the age of 17 in the court of law, where given a crime punishable enough, can result in life in prison, or even death. Otherwise, we have the right to sign our life over in the fate of the military, vote who is competent enough lead our country, decide the fate of another man’s life as a jury member, and we are given these responsibilities all at the age of 18. We have every other legal right of a citizen; we are just not responsible enough to buy a beer. With the inability to have Big Brother watching at all times, a consumer driven nation such as the United States, has only the bargaining chip of a drinking age of 21 left to manipulate the behavior...