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Also many people use dogs to protect their house. Pit bulls and other dogs are very intimidating
to people. I don’t think that a cat would stop a criminal from entering a house. While a pit bull or
any other big dog would have the criminal running away. Dogs are very loyal to their owner
while a cat could be placed in a different house and it would be fine. A dog would also wake you
up in a fire and a cat would be sneaking its way out of the house.
A dog can also help a human while he is hunting. Dogs will chase after a bird when it
falls in the water. Also the dog could scare birds so they fly in the air giving the hunter a good
look at a shot. People also train dogs to compete in the great outdoor games on ESPN. Dogs
compete against each other in a lot of different events. My favorite event is the long jump. A dog
gets going as fast as it can and it runs down a dock, when the dog gets to the end the dogs trainer
throws a rag off the dock and the dog jumps for it in the water.
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An indoor cat on the other hand has two jobs during a day, eat and sleep. That is all my
cat ever does. If it does happen to be awake when it is not eating it is crying for more food. My
cat is the most annoying animal of all time. Its not that I hate cats it’s just being around a dog is
ten times better. Cats also use a kitty litter box that always has to be taken care of, and I am the
first one always asked to clean it up.
Dogs also like to be walked. Walking a dog is not only good for the dog it is also good
for the person who is walking it. While it is not impossible, walking a cat is very rare. Cats are
to independent to stay on a leash.
A dog is easier to take on a vacation with the family than a cat. Dogs like traveling in a
car a lot more than cats do. Dogs will put their head out the window or sit on your lap. Every
time my cat has to be in a car to go to the vet it wets its self or cries hysterically.
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Dogs are also the mascots of many schools. Yale high school and the University of
Georgia both use bulldogs as their mascot. I can’t think of any school that uses house cats as a
mascot. Dogs are thought of as a stronger animal than cats, and most dogs are.
Another reason why I like dogs better is that dogs listen a lot better than cats. If I call my
dog over to me it will come and be happy. If I try to call my cat and make it get up it will just
walk down to the cat room and ask for food. Some dogs listen better than others but most dogs
will come to its owner when called. They also stop better. When my cat starts clawing away at
furniture you cant just yell and tell it to stop you have to get up and push it away. If a dog is
digging a hole in the lawn or something else it is not supposed to do all the dog needs to hear is
his name. My dog just liked to be around people so all it needs to hear is his name and it will
stop and come to the fence.
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Cats also leave their claw mark’s everywhere. My cat has to claw away at all new
furniture and most doors. If I am in my room with the door shut and the cat knows it, my cat is
going to scratch at the door until it gets some kind of attention. If I let the cat in after I hear it at
the door the cat will come in my room a cry for food.
Dogs can also do a lot of cool tricks. Dogs can jump really high and catch a stick or any
other object in there mouth. They can also play dead, rollover, shake hands and speak whenever
told to. It is very funny to watch someone due a halftime show of a game where dogs are
catching Frisbees and doing all sorts of different tricks. I have never seen a halftime show where
small cats put on an entertaining show.
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Parties, tailgating, dances, clubs, and the bar is all places where drinking is a major
factor. In todays society, drinking socially is considered acceptable but what happens when
drinking gets out of hand? Society wants to blame alcohol related incidents on everything other
than the real issue which is poor education on how to drink responsibly. In our society the legal
drinking age is 21 years old, yet we can drive a car at the age of 16, we can be prosecuted as an
adult at the age of 17, and can be sent to war at the age of 18, therefore the legal drinking age
limit should be lowered.
Drinking in U.S. culture is not accepted like in other countries which are probably why
the U.S. has so many problems with irresponsible drinking. Through research done over past
twenty years it has been proven that history may be repeating itself, similar to that of prohibition
and failed efforts to control people from consuming alcohol. In the past the government tried to
ban the selling of alcohol with prohibition, this took place when my great grandfather was a
young adult. When efforts failed the age limit was set at the age of 18 until 1984. During this
year the National Minimum Drinking Act came into effect. This act calls for all states to raise
their drinking age limit to a minimum of 21 years old or risk loosing federal highway funds. The
government actually blackmails the states into getting what they want, because of this all the
states raised their drinking age to 21 by 1987.
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Lowering the drinking age is an idea shared by many Americans. Ruth C. Engs is a
professor at Indiana University, and has been studying this for over twenty years. She too shares
the idea that history will repeat itself—with the drinking age similar to that of prohibition—due
to the law being unenforceable. Her research shows that many people under the age of 21 view
drinking as a “forbidden fruit” or something rebellious, which is when drinking becomes
dangerous. Statistics show that those under age are more likely to be heavy “binge” drinkers
which is only a 4% difference from drinkers who are of age. This research shows that the
drinking age being 21 has very little affect. Engs’ research also shows that during the first few
years after the drinking age was in effect, more students drank illegally than legally.
Why is it that in every other culture drinking is accepted in everyday life? Groups such
as Greeks, Chinese, and the German has less or no drinking problems in their societies. “19
countries that have a drinking age limit of 18…2 countries in Europe have age limits of 16; 1
country (Japan) has a minimum drinking age of 20. In Canada where the drinking age laws are
legislated by each province, three provinces set the consumption age at 18 and others and 19.”
(2) Also two countries in Europe has drinking age laws of 16 years old yet these countries do not
have half the problems of that of the United States. Engs says that in most countries, “Alcohol is
neither seen as a poison or a magic potent, there is little or no social pressure to drink,
irresponsible behavior is never tolerated, and young people learn at home from their parents and
from other adults how to handle alcohol in a responsible manner.”(3)
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Drunk driving is a huge issue in our society, although numbers have gone down since
1987, when the act was adopted by all 50 states. Is this an effect of a higher drinking age, or the
effects of efforts to educate people of the dangers in drinking and drunk driving? A study
presented in the IACP reports show that in Canada “similar reduction alcohol-related traffic
crashes have occurred among young drivers without raising the minimum purchase age” (2).
This simply shows that whether the drinking age is 19 or 21, there will be the same amount of
accidents. The accidents in the U.S. have declined steadily since 1887 but this is not due to the
minimum age limit being raised, it is better education on the subject. There are also programs
set up to help prevent drunk driving and to help youth education about the dangers of drunk
driving. Some of these programs include: “Education concerning drunk driving, designated
driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, and
free taxi services from drinking establishments” (3). Society in the United States does not want
to take blame for our alcohol problems we would rather just hide behind the law of the minimum
age of 21 when they really should be looking for more innovative ways to solve this problem.
Professor Engs at Indiana University found that since the drinking age has been raised to 21
years old instances involving alcohol have raised 5-10%, these instances include: vomiting after
drinking, cutting class after drinking, missing class because of a hangover, getting worse grades
because of drinking, and having been in a fight after drinking. After reading this I still find my
self asking what good it does having the drinking age at 21 years old.
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Thus far the legal drinking age is set at 21 years old and still efforts to try and minimize
underage drinking falls short. Is the drinking age limit the problem, many think not and that
keeping it at 21 years old is in fact helping out. In a recent study with Dr. Park college
administrator at the University of Colorado, he talks about way to reduce the irresponsible
drinking and sheds some light on some statistical information. In these studies he found that
90% of high school students has consumed alcoholic beverages and half of these students drinks
regularly. So how do we solve this problem? Dr. Park proposes keeping the law at 21 but to
give out some sort of license where conduct can be monitored and controlled, similar to that of a
driving license. This would give people under the age of 21 some kind of limited drinking
privileges until they are of legal age and to obtain the permit the person would have to go
through alcohol education classes. Dr. Park feels that people act responsibly when they are
given responsibility which makes perfect sense, instead of approaching the problem with a
negative punishment he says to give it positive reinforcement. Although Dr. Park may be on to
some interesting alternatives others feel that statistics prove that having the drinking age at 21
has served some purpose when comparing statistics over the past twenty years.
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Research—from professor D.J. Hanson Ph.D. at State University of New York— shows that
from 1980 to 2003 those who consumed alcohol in the past 30 days has dropped 25% and for
those who consume alcohol daily has dropped from 6% to 3%. Also on top of this alcohol
related fatalities have dropped from 60% to 40% from 1982 to 2002. One may ask if these
decreases result from the drinking age being risen to 21 years old or better alcohol education?
Depending upon who you asked, mixed messages will be given. Some say that alcohol plays a
big factor in suicides, homicides, and fatal injuries. Others might add that two thirds of sexual
assault is influenced by alcohol. There are always going to be two sides to every story, only time
will tell what method of preventing irresponsible drinking will work best.
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Society thinks that keeping the drinking age at 21 years old will help prevent alcohol
related accidents. This is similar to saying that violent music makes people commit violent acts
yet the only person responsible for being irresponsible is themselves. I find it funny that the
government will not let us drink legally till we are 21, but we can have every other privilege at
younger ages. I could be off in another country, fighting to protect the rights of others here in
the USA, but can’t have a drink in my own country. In my eyes this is a violation of rights.
Drinking would not be an issue if society did not make it an issue; our American culture is a
huge mix of different beliefs and alcohol is present in so many traditions such as Irish or Italian
families where drinking is custom at family get togethers or with a meal. So why is it that we
have such a problem when others don’t? Drinking is a problem because we say that is a problem.
I agree with the whole idea of alcohol being the forbidden fruit, any time you tell someone they
can’t do something they just want to do it more than ever before.