Adolescent Accountability And Responsibility Essay

At the age of 18 you should be considered an adult because, you are old enough to make decisions for yourself. You no longer have a curfew, which means you are responsible of making sure you are home at a decent hour. You will be expected to act like an adult, especially in the work field. People will start to look at you for promotions and higher paying jobs. You are now legal and the laws start to change for you, these laws make you more responsible as an adult and not just a minor. You have to be more cautious of what you are doing and think about how it’s affecting the law and the people

Adult decisions should have adult consequence many minors don’t think about their actions and how it affects others around them. According to

“What is the age of responsibility?” said Alan Greenblatt in his article “The Age of Responsibility.” Clearly what can be seen according to one of his lines “In America, ‘adulthood’ already has its familiar compass points, 18 and 21” (Greenblatt Par. 6) that the controversy between the milestone of adulthood and what age it should be is blatantly present in society. When Alan Greenblatt explained “...what if that age--the point when citizens are responsible enough to earn all rights [...] bear no resemblance to the ages already enshrined in law” (Par. 6) obviously what can be seen is that even though adulthood is marked between age eighteen and twenty-one, that doesn’t mean they’re responsible enough to handle them. Several factors apply to marking the milestone of adulthood, such as rites, rights, responsibilities, and overall: the age of responsibility.

Society proposes at the age of eighteen an individual is mature and responsible to make decisions without the consent of a parent or guardian. In the United States an eighteen-year-old is considered a legal adult. By law you are able to fight for your country, vote, and buy cigarettes. Some impose, giving a newly young adult the privilege to consume alcohol would enhance their responsibility as an adult. Mary Cary from

When a person turn 18 in most states they are considered adults under law and have most of the same rights and responsibilities as all other American adults. Their new rights include being able to vote, gamble, buy cigarettes, acquire guns, sign contracts, view adult material, get married, make a will, make their own medical choices and much more. With these newly acquired rights comes the burden of additional responsibilities and consequences.

If 18 is considered the age of adulthood, then a person at the age of 18 should be permitted to enjoy the rights and responsibilities that becoming an adult entails, including

Upon turning eighteen you are considered to be legal adult and receive all of the responsibilities that accompany the title. At the age of eighteen year olds you receive and are expected to use the rights and responsibilities to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, join the military--which includes taking on the responsibilities of life and death--and be prosecuted as an adults in the court of law along with many other things. In 1984, the national government raised the drinking age from 18 to 21. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was a key contributing organization that influenced the change in the minimum drinking age. While there are arguments for both sides, it is said that if the national minimum legal drinking age is

Turning 18 years means that a person has become a responsible adult. Thus one receives the rights and responsibilities of an adult which includes; taking responsible of life and death, be prosecuted as an adult, can join the army, sign contracts and the right to vote amongst others. All these shows that at 18 a person can do all the things that a 21 years person can

When a person reaches the age of eighteen they are seen as a legal adult: “adults should have the right to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption”(Drinking Age). Legal adulthood comes with all different types of rights and responsibilities with drinking not included. Eighteen year olds are given the right to vote, to smoke, to have consensual sex, and to get married without parental consent. this give citizens the ability to make decisions for the future of the country, the ability to do something that could cause future health problems, the ability to do something that could result in a baby which is additional responsibility, and the ability to separate from a family to start a new one. The responsibilities of being a legal adult are having total responsibility for one's actions and being trusted to not break the law because of being able to be charged as an adult now. An eighteen year old is also possibly in charge of someone's life depending on the type of case they could serve as a jury member on if selected. An eighteen year old boy is required to sign up for a system that if selected he would have to possibly die fighting for the country(What You Can). If eighteen year olds are old enough to fight for their country and old enough to make decisions that affect the health of themselves and the life of another person then why are they not trusted to make their own decisions regarding alcohol?

Considering the fact that eighteen year-olds are perceived to be mature enough to have privileges and opportunities such as voting and enlisting to fight for our

One of my classmates made a point, she said,” Haven't we all changed within those couple of years, I know I have.” As well as Sarah Brown stated, “With the steady decline in juvenile violence, the current state of the economy and new information on how brain development shapes teens’ behavior, some lawmakers are reconsidering past assumptions” (Brown). Both these quotes prove that people's personalities develop and change within the time no one stays the same. I sure the reason for these people's transformation was because of their surrounds. Villafana 2 Another author who believes teens should not be held for their irresponsible/immature actions is Gail Garinger. Gail Garinger says,” Young people...can not be held to the same standards when they commit terrible wrongs” (Garinger 96). I agree because as teens we are still relying on others to protect, teach, and nurture us because we are unaware of the outside

From a very young age parents teach their children right from wrong, some children even as young as 6 years old get that talk. Not only do we have parents teaching our children but we also have the education system and other family members. In 47 states being an 18-year-old means you are an adult and can be tried as one in the court of law. You may wonder, why 18? What makes an 18 year old different from 15, 16, or 17-year-old? Well, according to New York officials the only reason why 18-year-olds are considered adults is because that is the age they are allowed to vote. (http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2013/04/new_york_minimum_smoking_age_why_are_young_people_considered_adults_at_18.html) If it were not for the voting age being 18 maybe children would be considered adults at a younger age. Most people can look back into their teenage years and realize that they were not dumb or that we did not know any better.

From this point on, they are held responsible for any legal decision they make. They are held responsible because the government believes they can make qualified decisions that will have short and long implications. When a minor becomes 18 they are given a laundry list of new rights such as sign a binding contract, enlist in the military, participate in local and federal elections, and to serve and sell alcohol as a bartender. Although and 18 year old can serve and sell alcohol, they are not allowed to make decisions on the amount of alcohol to consume. Society thinks it will harm their mental growth along with their physical

Is it right to grant eighteen-year-olds all of these privileges and responsibilities, and to restrict them from drinking alcohol? If eighteen-year-olds don't have the discretion to drink responsibly, then how could they possibly handle the responsibilities and privileges that adults have? I believe that eighteen-year-olds do have the ability to handle the freedoms and responsibilities of being an adult, which should include the privilege to drink alcohol.

In every state, eighteen-year olds are legally permitted to drive, live as they choose, and work where they choose. Eighteen-year olds pay taxes as other adults do, are subject to all criminal and civil laws, and are punished, jailed and even executed for crimes they might commit against such laws. They are also permitted to hold most local, state and federal government public offices, and can sponsor and pass new laws if elected. Again, the only exception to complete adult