There is a hefty altercation over what the true age of responsibility is in young adults and whether the diverse ages they are given to acquire rights are excessively complicated. Growing up, teens are given four separate ages as to when they reach ages of “responsibility”, 16, 18, 21 and 25. These separate ages raise questions as to why the law has set certain age requirements to obtain different rights.
The article “What is the Age of Responsibility?” by Alan Greenblatt investigates the different ages states give young adults and how they can cause confusing as to when the age of responsibility comes into play. The article gives an account of one man, Justin McNaull. “By the time he was 23, McNaull had graduated from college, married and
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Eighteen is the age in which many teens become legal adults which gives them the right to get a tattoo, vote, join the military and the independence of making your own decisions. Twenty-one is the age which allows young adults to legally drink alcohol and smoke marijuana medicinally and recreationally, in 28 states. However “the presidents of 135 universities are campaigning to consider lowering the drinking age from 21”(Greenblatt) which, can cause problems between the federal laws and would seem unfair to students attending different colleges or high school graduates not attending college. The article notes “that binge drinking on campus is rampant despite stricture.”(Greenblatt) The CDC Fact Sheet of Underage Drinking also states how “people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States” and “90% of the alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks.”(CDC) So would lowering the drinking age really do much of a difference to ending binge drinking in young adults or would it increase the problem? Finally, at twenty-five, adults are allowed to rent cars from a rental establishment. Recently, however, some car rental companies rent to underaged drivers. For example, Hertz car rental now rents to drivers at the age of 20. We are given different ages to reach rights because “states are finding ways to recognize this by introducing youngsters to increasing levels of responsibility, rather than foisting it upon them all at once.”(Greenblatt) By mentioning this he is elaborating how laws give multiple ages in order to introduce responsibility in small portions rather than forcing it ,too quickly, onto young
In the United States of America, there is a minimum drinking age of 21. The legal drinking age legally specifies the youngest age in which a person is allowed to consume and purchase alcoholic beverages. From country to country, there are varying ages of legal drinking ages. There is much debate in the United States on whether the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen from twenty one, or should remain the same. People in favor of lowering the drinking age propose that since eighteen is characterized as being an adult (legally and socially), one of the rights that should come along with that is drinking alcohol. Also, that if we were to lower the drinking age, less young adults would be
Political writer and author, Alan Greenblatt, in his thoughtful article “What is the Age of Responsibility?” argues that “...the point of laws regulating the behavior of young people should not be to restrict them. It's to begin educating them in the ways of responsible adulthood.”. The age of responsibility, when one is legally allowed to do things like live alone, obtain a paying job and a driving license, consume alcohol, get a tattoo, etc., as of today varies and contradicts itself in our country. The current system that determines the legal age of responsibility in our country is outdated and made up of arbitrary numbers. The age of responsibility should be taken into deeper consideration. Although the legal age of adulthood in this country is a controversial issue, the current system in place for determining the age of responsibility for minors somewhat makes sense with
A college report showed that most kids are drinking to get drunk. In college a large sum and the majority of students are under twenty one. This fact is showing the immaturity of the students and more reasons the age should be twenty-one to drink. Drinking to get drunk and binge drinking are irresponsible which those under twenty-one are continually showing that they are. Yes there are adults who drink irresponsibly but the majority handle alcohol maturily. Some argue that there are children who drink responsibly, how can a minor drink responsibly when drinking at all is illegal. Binge drinking does more than harm the body , thsi is another reason the drinking age at eighteen would harm college students. Binge drinking increases academic struggles in students and while eveyone may not believe this, the actual reason for college is an education. By binge drinking obtaining this goal can be a challenge. While the college life is a large part of the legal drinking age there are other reasons it should stay at twenty-one. Drinking and driving is not acceptable by any age group and effects many lives every day. A vehicle is a weapon and operating this such weapon while intoxicated, or under the influence of any substance that will decrease your ability to operate the vehicle is foolish and dangerous for the driver, its passengers, and anyone who may be unfortunate enough to
According to Alexis Aguirre in The University Star, “Keeping the minimum legal drinking age at 21 will not dissuade young people who want to indulge in reckless alcohol intake. If anything, the age limit encourages binge drinking. Lowering the drinking age could make it easier to regulate consumption among younger adults as well as encourage healthy drinking habits” (Aguirre). Sure enough, if the drinking age were lowered to 18 it would avoid the illegal, abused intake of alcohol by 18 year olds. According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, “Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking” (U.S Department of Health and Human Services). A way of avoiding such tragedies is lowering the drinking age to 18, teaching younger
A lower drinking age law would save even more lives and also stop minors from drinking under the limit. Having it higher will result in more traffic injuries and fatalities among youth. A lower drinking age is effective in preventing alcohol-related deaths and injuries among youth. Young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heavy drinking age. According to John McCardell, founder of Choose Responsibility, the legal drinking age does not eliminate consumption among young people. Instead, it only drives underage drinking underground, creating a dangerous culture of irresponsible and extreme drinking. Although the legal purchase age is 21 years of age, a majority of college students under this age consume alcohol but in an irresponsible manner. This is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood."Keeping the minimum legal drinking age at 21 will not dissuade young people who want to indulge in reckless alcohol intake. If anything, the age limit encourages binge drinking. Lowering the drinking age could make it easier to regulate consumption among younger adults as well as encourage healthy drinking habits. “For example, 22% of all students under 21 compared to 18% over 21 years of age are heavy drinkers.” “Among drinkers only, 32% of underage compared to 24% of legal age are heavy drinkers.”
Most people think that the brain is fully developed at twenty five this can be wrong because most teens are mature in high school. This fact can be true but not everyone is the same, especially with girls they mature faster than boys. By proving to be mature some people do not think paying bills, attending college, and holding a job states that you are responsible you can still make mistakes. In my life, my parents do not think we are capable of being responsible because most teens do not do things on their own. Teenagers think the age of responsibility is just a number. The age of adulthood in our country should be determined by the ability of a person to prove that they are mature by paying bills, holding a job or attending college instead of by arbitrary laws and set
Every year thousands of students move into college dorms expecting to start their adult life. These students have every right that all adults have, except the right to consume alcohol. Currently in the United States, the legal age for consumption of alcohol is 21, which is three years senior to the other rights of adults. At eighteen years old an adult can serve in the military, rent an apartment, become legally married, sign contracts, vote, and even use tobacco based products, but they are not allowed to drink. At this age many feel the need to assert their adult age, because they logically cannot understand why they can serve but not be served. This law entices young adults to binge drink, use drugs, and engage in risky behaviors. For these reasons in personal opinion, the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years of age.
The youth is not trained or prepared to take on the burden of responsible drinking. Rather than provided leadership he is subjected to peer pressure encouraging him to act irresponsibly. The draft age and drinking age argument does not provide a convincing basis for a change in the law. A second argument often heard supporting a reduction in lowering the drinking age "eighteen to twenty year old are going to drink anyway so lower the drinking age."??????? The attached chart shows, "Over 75% of eighth grade students have tried alcohol, and 55% of them have tried it by sixth grade" ???????? While it is obvious that many teen-agers are breaking the law today, this is not advocating a change in the law. "It has been argued that laws do not impact or change behavior, but there is strong circumstantial evidence that drinking-driving laws do make a difference. Laws are a statement of the views of society, and the increase of penalties given the clear message that drinking and driving is viewed as a crime against society" (Tatman 1). The fact that laws are sometimes is not justification for changing the laws. Many supporters of a lowering of the legal alcohol age contend that eighteen or nineteen are mature enough to deal with alcohol. This argument is not supported by the facts. "Over 40% of all the 16-to-20 year olds who died in 1994 were killed in car crashes. And about half of those were
For me I think that 18 is the age of a new adult because you can get your driver’s licence. When you turn 18 years old you can get your driver's licence which gives you the freedom to drive a car without another adult.
In our society, a juvenile is eligible to vote at the age of 18, allowed to drive in some states at the age of 16, and permitted to drink at the age of 21. Therefore, it is logical to determine that a juvenile under the age of eighteen is mature enough to be charged as an adult when they commit violent crimes (Chiou, 131). According to the Justice Department, about ten percent of homicides occurring in the United States are committed by juveniles under the age of eighteen (abcnews.go.com). When the question of whether or not juveniles who commit violent crimes should be tried as adults arises, debates always surface. The debaters have a difficulty resolving this conflict because there are multiple perspectives on
If soldiers are old enough to fight Americas wars and potentially lose their lives, why can’t they go to bars? There is much confusion on the ages of responsibility these days. The age of responsibility is the age in which a person gains a certain rite or responsibility. What’s confusing is that if a teen is allowed to drive at 16 and considered to be a legal adult at 18, then why can’t they rent a car until 20, and drink until 21?
Do not tell teenagers or young adults that they are too young to do something. Do not tell them that they are too young to understand the way of adult life. In today’s society, people tend to believe that young adult and teenagers are too immature to make life essential decisions. Some argue that the legal age of 18 should be riesen to the age of 25 due to scientific and learning purposes. While others argue that it should be brought down to a lower age. For example, many think the age of sixteen should be the legal age because it would give teenagers a sense of responsibility. Still, people insist that young adults and teenagers don’t know how to make good decisions for their life because they are “too young”. The legal age of this country
Do you know the age of responsibility? When you turn 16 and earn your first driver's license? Or when you turn 18 and can finally leave home and move off to college? Or just simply becoming 21 and can now legally drink alcohol? Can one of those actually be the age of maturity and responsibility?
Parents And Society always put thin lines on what exactly the requirements are for being grown. Some people might agree that being grown means that you pay your own bills, have a job, and don’t live under your parents roofs. But most people agree that if you are eighteen then you are legally grown and an adult. However we still have a system that gives prosecutors the unchechecked authority to push children into the adult system. In our court system injustices are treated very differently based on a multitude of things like race, sex, etc. I am taking a stance on things based on older people fully having wisdom of the harsh crimes that they commit, whereas
We had a debate in class their was two sides. One side though that the age of responsibility should be set at a certain age. Yet society expects us teenager to grow up quickly, but it also prevents us(them) from reaching adulthood due to restrictions with the laws etc. A debate that was pretty intense in class. A particular example that they had used from the article that is stating that these are examples to the dawn of adulthood like “For drinking, driving, fighting in the military, compulsory schooling, watching R-rated movies, consenting to sex, getting married, having an abortion or even being responsible for your own finances.’’ (Katherine Schulten) The debate on drinking hinges on the question of whether or not the age of responsibility has been set too high... ‘’