The current U.S. system of laws surrounding the legal age of responsibility has failed us. It is not built with today’s society in mind. Teens today are pressured to grow up faster than ever while every teen develops maturity differently. Society should change the system of legal responsibility to honor the individual development of each person rather than by an arbitrary age. We should change it so the age of adulthood in our country is determined by the ability of a person to prove that they are mature by driving, paying bills, holding a job or attending college instead of by arbitrary laws and set numbers. The system should change in order to have a more equitable judgement for the age of responsibility. The new legal age of responsibility would allow adolescents to be more responsible by proving themselves. Many teens are proving that are ready to handle the “real” world. Teens today are driving, going to work, and going to college. Modern teenagers go to school from then on go to work while maintaining a healthy life. …show more content…
Adults expect for teens to listen and show respect when they do not do it themselves. Adults immediately disregard any ideas. They feel that teens are not old enough to understand although they do. In her speech, “I’m 17,”Kate Simmons supports the fact that teens aren’t given the chance. She agrees when she says “ I've been told by adults that I'm not ready to vote even though I keep up with politics, and I'm sure of my beliefs.” Of course, many will probably disagree with the assertion that adolescents can be mature. I think that adults are mistaken because they overlook the fact that teens are in the stages of preparing for life. In order to prove to adults that teens can be mature, they would have to show proof of a clean driving record, paying bills, holding a job, or going to college. Teens that do not fit into these categories would have to wait to be considered an
Teenagers play an important role in society since they are old enough to have their own opinions but aren’t regarded by adults to have opinions worth sharing. Song highlights many important ideas like teenagers have a lot to do with worldwide issues such as gun control and LGBT rights. “Like adults, teens deserve to speak and to have the opportunity to be heard, and we deserve the respect that any other adult would expect. We shouldn’t be counted out just for our age when many of us are mature beyond our years. We shouldn’t be belittled or disregarded for having the audacity to believe we can make a difference.(“Why More Adults Need to Value Teenage Voices by Isabel Song)” Song believes that not all teenagers should be stereotyped as lazy, selfish, and arrogant because their voices should be counted in society. If adults keep on neglecting on teenagers, they won’t see the amazing things that teenagers are doing right now for the
The age of responsibility could not make sense at 18 because of all the rights and responsibilities that are given at age 18 such as financial decisions and college and moving out of the house, but their are still so many things that 18 year olds cannot do such as they still can't rent cars or drink alcohol. “...lowering the legal limit to 18 would only be pushing the drinking problem down to 16-17 year old.” (Wagenaar 17). According to Alexander Wagenaar in Greenblatt’s article lowering the age down to 18 would make drinking a big problem for younger teenagers that are 16 and 17. This could make an even bigger problem in high school because people may say that they are close to the age and they may feel more responsible even though they are not. Therefore, it would not make sense to have 18 be the legal
American teenagers are often criticized for being irresponsible and immature. Some in the older generation will also state that kids are taking too long to move out of the house. These views of young adults are pessimistic and demeaning to the current generation. While the adolescent stage has been extended, American kids are taking an ample amount of time to accept the responsibilities of becoming an adult.
When it comes to the discussion over lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen, people express various different ideas and beliefs concerning the issue. Some believe that the drinking age for alcohol should be lowered and others believe that it should stay the same. Those that do believe lowering the drinking age is the best route to take, do have valid points. However, there are others who argue that changing the law will not change things for the better. In the end, one could feel that lowering the drinking age to eighteen could actually show signs of promise in equality for all American adults. Changing this law could decrease the tendency of young adults to break the law, and could train them to have more self-control.
Bob Marley once said, “Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” This is the case when it comes to teens and alcohol. In America, the National Minimum Legal Drinking Age is a topic of great debate and controversy. Many people argue that the age restriction provides a safe environment for all citizens; whereas others disagree that the law creates an untrustworthy aura among teens. If the minimum legal drinking age were to be lowered, most people would be affected by it, whether it be by an increase in drunk-driving or a rise in crimes. Although teens are legally considered adults by the age of eighteen and the minimum legal drinking age prompts underage teens to exhibit risky behavior, the age restriction should not be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen because young teens would have easier access to alcohol, the minimum legal drinking age has decreased alcohol-related problems, and alcohol can cause damage to underage drinkers.
Teenagers still should have the chance to grow up and to experience “love” and relationships without their life being jepordized by other parents because they are unhappy about their children's relationship. In other words, they should not be considered an “adult” because they really do not understand the law or what is actually going on in life. Twenty years of age would be more of an appropriate age that people can actually be considered an adult.
According to most legislation, a person under the age of eighteen is not considered an adult. It has been proved that a person does not mature mentally until about age twenty five. Many basic adult rights are not granted to juveniles because they are not responsible enough to assume the role of an adult. It goes without saying that the law regards those under the age of eighteen as minors, and so these minors shall not ever be treated as an adult in a court of law. Three basic reasons that minors should not be tried as adults are the decreased mental capacity of juveniles, the basic adult rights that are not granted to juveniles, and the fact that prison is an unsuitable environment for minors. Juveniles and adult do not have a parallel mental capacity; therefore, a juvenile should not be tried as an adult in a court of law, and should instead be subject to separate age-specific judicial procedures and legislation.
There are numerous problems involving alcohol in the world today, including alcoholism, drunk driving, and alcohol poisoning leading to death. Many of these problems involve minors and are linked to drinking underage. The legal drinking age in many states is twenty-one years old. The purpose of this law is to keep minors out of danger: away from drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, and injuring the brain before it is fully developed. The government supports the belief that people are not ready or responsible enough for alcohol until this age. However, various professors and researchers are discovering ways to disprove this belief. These people think that reducing the drinking age to eighteen would influence our country in a positive way. Not only do minors support this idea, but there are numerous people and organizations that support the idea of lowering the drinking age as well. The current drinking law is counterproductive in our society because it’s not effective in eliminating underage drinking, and leads to unsafe situations such as drunk driving and alcohol poison instigated deaths. This problem could be solved by lowering the minimum drinking age to eighteen, with a drinking license.
Do you enjoy being told what to do after you turn an 18 and you become an adult? I know I don’t. As you transition into that adult phase you get to enjoy adult activities such as voting and joining the military. As an adult there comes responsibility and at some points you have to make tough decisions. One of those decision include are you going to drink under age. What if I could tell you that the drinking age use to be 18 years old in 30 states. Should the drinking age go back to 18 years old? I am one who believes that as an adult you should have the ability to make those decisions. Lower the drinking age to 18, but we need to enforce the laws and educate our youth.
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 dropped back to eighteen many lives would be saved, colleges will have better retention as well as turn out rates of high school graduates, and it could repeal or alter a counterproductive law. The minimum legal drinking age should be lowered back down to the age of eighteen and those who wish to drink should be required to take classes to attain a drinking license upon completing the class in a satisfactory manner.
It is ironic that how some children are able to present themselves more mature than adults. The youth of the generation is becoming more mature and are developing adult skills faster than ever. People are beginning to wonder about the age of adulthood and how it should be determined. This controversy beleaguers around privileges such as drinking, driving, and voting. According to the article What is the Age of Responsibility by Alan Greenblatt, society determines that a person is an adult through customary rites, legal rights, and one’s responsibilities. However, I believe that the best way to adulthood is shown through one’s obligation for their priorities and work.
The juvenile system was first established in the United States around 1899 when Illinois had their first court appearance including a juvenile. This then led to the Nation’s first juvenile system being created, which was for youth under the age of eighteen who have been convicted of crimes. Up until then, most youth were tried as an adult until the system was put into place. The system has different sections in which they youth is taken in such as: intake, adjudication, disposition, and post adjudicatory.
It really is no secret that if the minimum legal drinking age were lowered, a large number of teens would then drink for perhaps the first time. “The age group with the most drivers involved in fatal crashes with Blood Alcohol Content levels of .08 or higher during 2011 was the twenty-one to twenty-four-year-olds” (“National Highway Traffic Facts”). Young adults are just as irresponsible at eighteen as they are at twenty-one, maybe even more irresponsible. The teenagers will indulge themselves on what they feel is a luxury the first chance they get. The young adults abuse the alcohol, and then go driving because even at twenty-one through twenty-four they are still not as responsible. If the age is lowered to eighteen, many eighteen-year-olds will go out and drink alcohol for the first time. The age group may rise to number one in fatal crashes. The National Highway Traff...
Firstly, everyone has gone or will go through the teenage rebellion phase. No matter how good of a person you think you are, you have probably rebelled against an elder person at least once. Once hormones have revealed it-self, children turn into confused young adults that think they can do everything by themselves and that there will be no longer any need of nurture from adults. The word “young” from “Young adults” are what teenagers completely ignore, when actually they should do the opposite and ignore the “adults” part.
In addition to teenagers gaining independence and freedom with a license, parents also gain more freedom as well. Teenagers who cannot drive rely heavily on parents, siblings, and other people to chauffeur them around. Not only does this cost more for the driver, but schedule arrangements must constantly be made and even cancelled in order to drive teenagers to where needed.... ... middle of paper ... ... Deciding to raise the age does not seem like a prime choice, because not only does the argument include age as a factor, but it greatly affects the lives of everyday people.