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Essay On Minimum Drinking Age

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U.S. Law states that if you are not 21 you are not mature enough to have a drink. Every day I watch young men and women between the ages of 18 to 20 join our military forces. We tell these young men and women that they are mature enough to go war and pay the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. But when they come home from a combat deployment we tell them a different story, we tell them that in fact they are not mature or responsible enough to go into a bar and have a drink. Therefore my point is that if you are old enough to take up arms and die for your country you are old enough to drink. The reason why we don’t let people drink before 21 is because of a federal law. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 says that a state will enact a minimum age of 21 to drink or they would be subject to losing 10 percent of their federal highway funding for each year they do not comply with the …show more content…

Service members have a different set of priorities and mentality. Not to say that all service members who join are mature beyond their years, but that the process to becoming a Soldier helps speed up the process. The priorities and maturity that Soldiers develop revolve around the 7 Army values that all Soldiers live by. The values are defined by the Army as follows: “(1) Loyalty: Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S., the Army, unit and other Soldiers. (2) Duty: Fulfill your obligations. (3) Respect: Treat people as they should be treated. (4) Selfless Service: Put the welfare of the Nation, Army, and your subordinates before your own. (5) Honor: Live up to your values. (6) Integrity: Do what’s right, legally and morally. (7) Personal Courage: Face fear, danger or adversity.”

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