ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Legal drinking age controversy in the United States

Okay kiddo, so in the United States there are certain laws that say you have to be a certain age to do certain things. One of those things is drinking alcohol. The legal drinking age in the US is 21 years old. That means you can’t drink alcohol until you’re 21.

Now, some people think that’s a good idea because they believe that if people start drinking alcohol when they’re too young, they might not know how to handle it responsibly and could get into dangerous situations like driving drunk or getting hurt.

Other people think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18 years old because they believe that if a person is old enough to vote, join the military, and get married, they should also be allowed to drink.

The controversy is that some people believe that if the drinking age is lowered, it might increase alcohol-related problems like car accidents and health issues. Others believe that if the drinking age is lowered, it could actually decrease the number of alcohol-related problems because younger people could learn how to handle alcohol responsibly in a safer environment.

It’s a complex issue, and different people have different opinions, but the main thing to remember is that the legal drinking age is 21 in the United States for a reason, and we should always drink responsibly (or not at all, since you’re only 5 years old!).