User:Djy9302/English Essay

Young, Kevin Period 2 January 15, 2007 English 5-6 H Rochester’s Argument on Alcohol Licensing

Eighty-six percent of American adults drink alcohol. Of the people in those eighty-six percent, ninety-four percent of them say that they drink responsibly. Four percent say that they don’t drink responsibly, and two percent aren’t sure if drinking makes them act responsibly or not. (qtd. in AlcoholStats.com) There are more than 100,000 deaths in the United States alone caused by excessive alcohol consumption, alcohol results in about forty-five percent of all traffic crashes, and alcoholics spend almost four times as much time in hospitals than non-drinkers do. (qtd. in Alcohol Facts) Earl Rochester argued that, in an attempt to “combat this public-health crisis”, drinkers should apply to “receive a drinking license” in order to purchase alcoholic beverages. Rochester believed that a “national system of licensing” should be instituted to reduce the number of “alcoholics and problem drinkers” by prohibiting them from “buying alcoholic beverages”, including beer. If more efforts were made to stop people from illegally purchasing alcohol, there would be a decrease in the problem of alcoholism in America. If people would see the consequences of alcohol and disobeying the law, more people would be driven towards going through the process to get a drinking license and more people would be responsible drinkers. Adults start consuming alcohol at a rather young age, with the average age being 11 years old for boys and 13 years old for girls. Those who begin drinking before age 15 are four times as likely to develop a dependency on alcohol than those who start at 21, the legal limit for drinking. (Alcohol and Teen Drinking) Alcohol is also a leading factor in automobile crashes, homicides, and suicides, the three leading causes of death for people ages 15 to 24 years old. About eighty-three percent of adolescent children ages 12 to 17 years old do not drink. In a wider range, seventy-two percent of people ages 12 to 20 years old do not drink. These results show that about a quarter of the population in high school drink, a percentage which is rather high for this particular age group. Being allowed to drink is a privilege that people take for granted. They abuse the opportunity to buy alcohol by having as many drinks and having as much alcohol as they possibly can, with no regard at all for their health and physical well-being. Alcohol abuse is characterized by interferences with normal brain functioning and powerful feelings of pleasure. Alcohol abuse also may have severe long-term effects on brain activity and metabolism, and may even go so far as to cause addiction. (Drug Abuse and Addiction) Alcohol abuse is not curable, but it is treatable through therapy and other methods to get the abuser to not be addicted to alcohol. I have personally witnessed some bad things happen which were the result of alcoholism and problem drinking. There has been an increase of crimes, automobile accidents, and numerous other incidents involving somebody who decided to disobey the law and drink irresponsibly since alcoholism really began to become a serious problem in the American society. The father of a friend of mine went to a local bar with a lot of drinking. Although he wasn’t drinking, his friend that he went with had several beers. As they were leaving the bar, his friend, clearly drunk, got behind the wheel of his car and crashed into an oncoming van at the next intersection. Nobody died in the crash, but the driver was paralyzed from the waist down, and the father suffered a concussion and a broken arm. In the other car, the only injury sustained was a broken leg by the driver, who was fortunately the only person in the van. Alcohol weakens the human senses and reduces their reaction time. This causes drunk drivers to be less aware of their surroundings while at the wheel. A lot of innocent lives have unfortunately been taken as a result of car accidents, in which alcoholics don’t have a lot of control over their vehicle. If there were more restrictions on who is able to buy alcohol and alcoholic beverages, there wouldn’t be as many alcoholics and problem drinkers, which would make everything a lot safer. Earl Rochester proposes that in order to acquire a license, an applicant must first review a drinking manual, similar to a driving manual, containing valuable information regarding the law on alcohol and important information regarding alcohol. Then, the applicant must pass a written test which is based on the information in that manual. This test would be designed to inform the applicant just what exactly are the dangers of alcohol and over-consuming alcoholic beverages. It also makes them aware of the consequences for breaking the law and either illegally purchasing alcohol or abusing alcohol. If the applicant were to pass the test, ensuring that they are well aware of the dangers of alcohol, the consequences of consuming too much alcohol, and then they will receive a license allowing them to legally purchase and consume alcohol and alcoholic beverages. If an alcoholic or a problem drinker manages to receive a license, then he would inevitably be caught and “face arrest and alcohol related charges” (prompt) Earl Rochester also suggests that those who develop an alcoholic problem may be stripped of their license if they are convicted on alcohol-related charges. The liquor stores are bars that distribute alcoholic beverages to drinkers may, as well, lose their license if they are caught giving alcohol to unlicensed drinkers. This would be a major step in preventing problems from arising as an effect of the wrong people drinking.