First off, I would just like to say that I think the whole “if I can die for my country at 18, I should be able to have a drink at 18” is a ridiculous argument. With that logic, we should be able to fight for our country at 16 because that’s the standard age of consent in many states.
However, I do think the drinking age should be gradually lowered until it is non-existent. I went to England when I was 18. There, you can drink in a private home no matter how old you are yes, this includes small children you can drink “soft” alcohol wine and beer and the like in a restaurant at 16 and you can drink anything, anywhere at the age of 18. They have many fewer issues with drinking. Teenagers who drink are way smarter very little of this, “no really, I’m okay to drive” nonsense and there are many fewer people who wind up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning or because they were in an accident with a drunk driver. As i said, I think this lowering of the age would have to be very gradual, say, every two years, lower the drinking age by one year and have similar laws to England’s, that is to say, you can drink in a private home, but there are laws about drinking outside the home.
Like @JLeslie I also think that we should have much stricter laws in the US about drunk driving. I don’t know how it is in other states, but in CT, but it’s the third offense that gets your license suspended for a year. Personally, I think that the first offense should get your license suspended for a year, the second offense should get you jail time and the third should get your license suspended indefinitely.