At 18 in the United States, you can vote, smoke, serve on a jury, get married, and even die for your country but you can't drink a glass of wine. While so-called adults have the right to make their own decisions, they are not allowed to consume alcohol until the golden age of 21. This law has led to those under 21 being tempted to break the law every time they want to consume alcohol. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would encourage people to drink responsibly and reduce road accidents caused by people driving while intoxicated. Alcohol is believed to have originated in the Mesopotamia area thousands of years ago. Most historians and scientists believe that alcohol arose after the discovery of the concept of agriculture. To produce alcohol it was necessary for fruit to ferment. The Egyptians were known to be drinkers through the texts they wrote. In some of their writings they had mentioned the problems caused by drunkenness ("Alcohol in history"). The existence of alcohol also dates back to the Roman gods. Dionysus was the Roman god of wine. Alcohol is also mentioned many times in the Old Testament and was an important part of Jewish practices. The Prophet Muhammad prohibited his followers from consuming alcohol (“Alcohol in History”). In the United States alcohol has been consumed since the time of the Pilgrims and some say they had wine and beer on their ships. Because milk and water were in short supply and coffee and tea were expensive, colonists turned to beer and cider as daily beverages (“Historical Context of Alcohol in the United States”). In these times, however, alcohol was consumed responsibly and there was no room for immod...... middle of paper ......ely 50% drank at least once. Teenagers certainly drink less often than adults, but when they do drink they definitely drink more than adults. This practice is known as binge eating. These harmful and unsafe activities in which many teenagers engage conclusively prove the case that the minimum legal drinking age of 21 reduces the number of underage drinkers. If, as adults, people have the right to serve on juries and make important decisions that can affect an entire nation, then at 18 people should be able to consume alcohol without having to worry about breaking the law. Lowering the drinking age to 18 would encourage people to drink responsibly and reduce road accidents caused by people driving while intoxicated. The minimum legal drinking age of 21 is proving ineffective day after day and causing more harm than good to people..