Twenty: The New Eighteen

In the novel Tangerine Luis Cruz fits the mythological archetype mentor because he is very kind/nice to paul.Luis is also the mentor to paul because he inspires paul to be the best he can be.

“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.

When I was young I was told 18 would be the age when I would become an adult. When I turned 18 I could get a tattoo or piercing without permission, I could buy cigarettes, and I did not need permission for most everything. Most everything except drinking alcohol. In the United States the drinking age is 21 years old, 4 years after a teenager legally turns into an adult.

I always say to my family, “One day we will cross la frontera!” Living in Guadalajara, Mexico was not for the faint of heart. My family didn’t have much money and it was hard watching them sleeping on dirt floors. Mama, Roberto, and Francisco deserved better that what they had. I always imagined us crossing over to the beautiful United States. I knew one day we would cross that border so my family could have a better life.

Likewise a 18 year old has many other adult like perks such as getting married driving and serving the military which are all have a much much more adult like manner getting married is a threatening decision decision for most people so if 18 year olds can do it then why couldn’t they have a smaller decision such as drinking and even a bigger decision can be made at the 18 year old mark which is serving the military and that can be a very dangerous place for such a young person to go to the military can present many life setbacks such as injury and loss of time to finish the time at the military so if that decision can be made at such a low age then the small decision of drinking should be given too at that age because it is much less dangerous and can have a smaller life changing impact.

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

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?

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

When you are 18 you get privileges like being able to vote for a president. (Mitch Adams lowering the drinking age Page 1) When you turn 18 can go to war and take the risk of dying for your country. (Mitch Adams lowering the drinking age Page 1)Even after a long day of fighting you still can not just relax and have a cold beer. When you are 18 and go to court you are considered an adult (Valerie Richardson Coors Urges lower drinking age Page 2) and shouldn't an adult be

Further, bringing up a valid point that in our American culture, everything wished to be attained is graduated and usually costs money. We want a license? We must first gain our permit. We want to drink at a bar with our friends? No you have to wait till 21,but in the mean you can first enjoy a cigarette, which have many many toxins that can kill you and causes many different cancers(Quit Smoking Support). You may be what the world calls a young adult but you are still

Once a person reaches the age of 18, they are allowed to tattoo their bodies, smoke tobacco, gamble and even enlist if they wanted to! As an adult, they want to be treated as one but how can they feel like an adult if hanging around with their friends and drinking beer while watching TV is illegal? Of course, that does not stop them, though. The United States is one of the few countries in which still have such a high minimum drinking age. Although most people think young adults (18-year olds) are irresponsible, the minimum drinking age should be lowered to 18 because they deserve to be recognized as adults in order to avoid illegal, uncontrolled drinking and other illegal actions.

The legal age of adulthood in the United States for most purposes is 18. At the age of 18, a person enters the realm of adulthood and is assigned the rights and responsibilities associated with this legal status. For example, an 18 year old can legally sign a contract and is bound by the terms and conditions of the contract. An 18 year old can marry without parental consent, serve on a jury, and vote in state and federal elections. An 18 year old who is charged with a crime is not tried in the juvenile justice system but is tried as an adult. Additionally, an 18 year old can join the military and be sent to a combat zone to defend our country. One notable exception to the rights of adulthood is the right to legally consume alcohol until the age of 21. I will present a cogent argument to lower the legal drinking age in the United States from 21 to 18. The elements of the argument will be based in utilitarian ethics. Jeremy Bentham, a utilitarian theorist, advocated that one’s individual rights should outweigh the interests of institutions, which include the government.

When you become an adult you can vote, join the military, jury duty, sign contracts, marry, apply for loans, make decisions regarding medical treatments, and be prosecuted as an adult (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered From 21 to a Younger Age?”). Adults have the right to make their own decisions, and there are many arguments on why 18-year-olds should be able to consume alcohol legally. In other countries like Europe with an MLDA of 18, there are fewer drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities than an MLDA of 21 in America (“Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered From 21 to a Younger Age?”). Many argue that the government and the police should worry more about every legal person’s alcohol consumption instead of just underaged

In the United States when a person reaches eighteen they are considered an adult in the eyes of the law. Being an adult in the eyes of the law means mature enough to vote, buy cigarettes, be charged as an adult for crime, even enlist for the Military. The law says an eighteen-year-old is mature enough to make life-altering choices, but is not yet ready to consume or purchase alcohol (“Drinking Age is 21 For a Reason”). There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be depressed to eighteen like most of the world has it or if it should remain at twenty-one. In our society today, this topic has caused much of a stir due to its major controversy when in all actuality the answer is clear; the legal drinking age should be lowered.

It was a Saturday morning kind of the typical Saturday for a 13 year old boy in the late 90’s. Early morning cartoons and no school, but I was on a football team called the Pasadena Ponies, Junior pee wee was the division I was in, and today was game day. I wasn’t a starter at the position I played, but this day I was in luck I was starting. I had no clue what was in store for me, but at the end of this day I felt good about myself.