The Public Opinion

Hypothesis:

In the US, the legal age to have an alcoholic beverage is twenty- one years old.  Before we are twenty one years old, we are declared adults under the law and are mature enough for so many responsibilities. My hypothesis is that there are many reasons why the drinking age can, and should be lowered to eighteen.

Context:

 My target audience is the younger generation of Americans because we are the ones who are having this experience.  Particularly 15-20 year old.  I chose this audience because it obviously would not matter as much to people who older than the required drinking age.  It will not make a difference in their lives but it will make a difference in ours.  My results are valid and reliable because they are unbiased.  I tried my best to make sure the questions did not veer towards my opinion.  Everyone was able to say whatever they wanted to say without having to agree with me.

Results:

Figure 1-

	Male yes	Male no	Female yes	Female no	UNSURE
Are you happy with the current drinking age?	30%	20%	20%	30%	0%
Do you think it is wrong to deny the right for adults to drink?	40%	10%	20%	30%	0%
If an 18 year old is mature enough to defend this country, are they mature enough to drink?	30%	20%	20%	30%	0%
Do you find it unconstitutional for not allowing our underage soldiers to drink?	30%	20%	30%	20%	0%
Do you think war veterans of all ages should be able to drink?	30%	20%	30%	20%	0%
Do you think there is a valid reason they stopped allowing soldiers to drink?	30%	10%	30%	0%	30%

Data analysis:

The data shows that over half the people that have taken my survey believe that war veterans of all ages should be allowed to drink.  That aids the research greatly.  All of the time,19-20 year old kids come back from war broken in different ways and are not allowed to drink.   That is mainly the people I am doing it for.  60% out 100% say yes to allow underage veterans to drink.  The results were also the same for both males and females.  The results were mostly 30% yes and 20% no for each.  It was also divided up 50/50 between males and females on that were happy with the current drinking age.  Some people are happy with the drinking age but some still want underage veterans to be able to drink.  So, I believe that what they are saying is that soldiers of all ages should be able to drink but not regular citizens.  There was also a pattern with the data.  The majority of the people that voted for one thing, voted for a similar answer on the next.  It wasn’t because the question was restated; it is just because they all intertwine.

Conclusion:

There are reasons why the drinking age should be lowered and most people believed it should be.  I did notice that people kept their beliefs while taking my survey.  But with all of the counter beliefs the majority still did agree with me.  I also like the fact that they stayed true to their thoughts because that helps me in my research.  It is always good to have two sides no matter what point you are trying to prove

Follow up:

I will do a little more focus on all the other responsibilities 18 year olds have.  It will be the responsibilities the 18 year olds who are not providing for the defense of the US have.  I am still going to go with my original essential question.  I am also going to look for more information that will counter my topic.  That way there is a better understanding between the opposing views.