Many people look towards their 21st birthday with anticipation. As is commonly known, it is the age in the United States when alcohol can legally be purchased and consumed. Now, I have no issue with of-age individuals purchasing and consuming alcohol in a manner which takes into consideration their health and the safety and well-being of those around them. However, in the state of Virginia and many others, purchasing alcohol is prohibited under the age of 21, and underage consumption of alcohol is prohibited unless it is in a private residence with a parent/guardian or spouse. Even though the law clearly states the legality of underage drinking — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 11 percent of alcohol consumed in the United States is by people aged 12 to 20 years old. Of this 11 percent 90 percent is consumed by binge drinking, a form of excessive drinking which poses potentially life-threatening health risks.
Regardless of your beliefs about alcohol consumption laws, I do not believe there is a justifiably moral reason for breaking these laws. It is not a human right to have the privilege to consume alcohol at whatever age we please. If laws were passed prohibiting children of a certain race or gender from receiving vaccines, this would be considered unjust and unethical. By many standards it would increase the likelihood of specifically selected children becoming infected or dying from certain diseases. Alcohol does not increase the likelihood of survival for children and young adults; in fact, the CDC estimates that around 4,300 underage youth die each year as a result of excessive drinking. Alcohol consumption laws are not laws of oppression. Jim Crow era laws are laws of oppression. Nazi Germany imposed laws of oppression. There is no logical reason that prohibiting alcohol consumption based on age is oppressive because we do not require alcohol to live in a way that allows us to pursue and obtain the best life possible.
We live in a culture that glorifies the use of alcohol. Many of our social gatherings, especially among high school and college students, are dependent on the presence of alcohol. We cannot pick and choose which morally just laws we follow. If I can disregard the law prohibiting me from consuming alcohol because I am under 21 just because my culture glorifies it, can I not disregard the laws prohibiting purchase of an illegal firearm? If this were the case, why have laws at all? We might as well rely on the morality of people to govern ourselves in a way that preserves the liberty of all people and hope that the rights of a person are never violated.
I am not arguing for another prohibition; I believe that would be just another divisive factor in our already — divided country. I am arguing that there is not a moral and ethical reason to break alcohol consumption laws. I am arguing that when over 4,000 underage individuals die each year from excessive alcohol use, we need to reevaluate our cultural stance on alcohol use, especially when it is impacting our children. Alcohol is not the only means by which one can have an enjoyable time at a social gathering, it does not constitute intimacy in relationships, and it is not a solution to the problems we find ourselves feeling too entrenched in to ever get out of. Why are we willing to consciously break a law in an attempt to chase the enigmatic promises society claims alcohol will fulfill?
