Summer fast approaching means no school and parties that extend into the dark of night and, in some cases, into the early morning hours.

At those parties, whether it’s a high school party or a college party, there is sure to be alcohol present.

The minimum drinking age in the United States is 21. Many people believe that the legal drinking age should be 18. If people can vote, join the military be considered an adult at 18, then why can’t they drink?

According to a report published by CNN, back in the 1970s, when the government lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, many states followed up by lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. By the late 1970s, more than half of the states had lowered the legal drinking age.

By the 1990s the government (after a strong push by Mothers Against Drunk Driving) raised the drinking age back to 21.

The United States is one of the few developed countries whose legal drinking age hasn’t wavered in the last 20 years, and it’s smart at keeping the drinking age right where it is.

According to a MADD article, keeping the drinking age at 21 has saved more than 25,000 lives. Because teens get drunk faster than adults, and according to that same article, they have trouble knowing when to stop and are more likely to binge drink.

Teen drinking results in more than 4,700 deaths per year, which is more than all illegal drugs combined.

There’s no problem with having a few beers in the comfort of your own home, with your parents’ supervision.

The problem is when these kids decide to go out to the bar where they know the bouncer and the bartender so they don’t get carded, or to that party on a lake where one drink turns into two, then to three, etc. and then they decide to be stupid and get behind the wheel.

How many times do we read in the news where someone, whether it’s an 18-year-old kid or a 30-year-old, gets behind the wheel of a car, gets in a wreck and kills themselves and/or others?

It happens more than it should. Texas has a zero-tolerance law, where if you are under 21 and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, you go to jail. No questions asked. That law is great. In fact, the law should also state that if you get busted with alcohol in your system and you’re 15-18 years old, you should get tried as an adult, no questions asked. You wanna act and party like a big boy? Well, now it’s time to wake up and face the music.

The fact is, is people are more irresponsible than not. Take Ethan Couch for example: 16 years old, gets drunk, gets behind the wheel of a car, gets in a wreck and kills four people.

The fact is, we don’t have as many police officers as we do people in this country, so they can’t catch everybody.  

The next time someone thinks that lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a good idea, let’s remember the Ethan Couch case.