This May I will be turning 20 years old. A 20th birthday is nothing special to me. At 15 you get your permit for driving. At 16 you get your license. At 17 you can see rated R movies in theaters. And 18 you can do numerous things like buy tobacco products, get into clubs, buy pornographic material and quite a few other things frowned on by society. Twenty years old you don't really get much. Twenty one of course you get to purchase alcoholic beverages.
Here is my stand on things. If you can drive a car at 16 and be adult enough to be on the road with other people, why are you not adult enough to watch a rated R movie. At 18 you are adult enough to go to war and die for your country but you can't go to a bar with your father and have a couple beers. I actually wrote a term paper on this last year and got an A on it. It is a subject I feel very strongly about. Do you feel like the age requirements in America are wrong?
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I too feel the same way about this topic. A good point was made about the age requirement to go to fight for our country over seas, yet you cant touch an alcoholic beverage without seeing the other side of the jail cell bars shortly after. At age 18, you are given the rights to enlist in the armed forces and purchase tobacco products. With some people, these products impair vision almost, if not just as much as a couple beers would. I feel strongly that the age requirements for a lot of things in the U.S. are a little twisted.
Do tobacco products really impair some people's vision?
The human brain does not develope the true ablity to rationalize poperly until around 23 - 25 years of age. Many young people also lack the true ablity to think about the results of their action until this time. That's why many teens and young adults find themselves in so much termoil in there early adulthood. For example {teen pregancy, std's, voilence, fatal car accidents, adolesnce alcholism and drug use. We need to procect our young people until they can do it themselves. Personaly when I was 18 years old I, joined the Marine Corps, as I had no regaurd for life, at times it would appear that I even thought I was invincible. Many times I would drive across country from California to Melbroune Florida, 3,000 miles non-stop, no sleep no dose and soda for 36 hours straight. Often I would travel at speeds of 100 mph plus the whole way, I only got stopped once but I can't tell you the number of times I almost died. I said all of this to say "I never once thought of speeding or death as a real issue, many adults however was affraid for my life. Now that I'm 40 years old I look back and think of how crazy I was and how blessed I am to still be alive. Pyshcologist say that at the point in which you use alchol that is the point or level in which you has the ablity to communicate to others.
I think the age limits are just fine like they are. Even if they did lower the drinking age to 18there would still be some little kid somewhere complaining because they can't but beer at 16. It's impossible to satisfy everyone.
We are the only country in the world with an 21 year old age limit on alcohol. What makes the rest of the world's teens more mature?
Also, Yes some tobacco products can impair your senses.
I just cant see why your mature enough to go die over at war and when it comes to drinking age your just a kid.
I agree that if your old enough to die for your country, having a drink should be no big deal.I would have like to been able to have a couple drinks with my mother.But I guess that @ 21 people are viewed as more mature and are considered to be more responsible. If you view it from that point of view, than its okay to wait until you are 21 to have a drink.
I think the age requirements on things are there for a reason. They are always going to be debated no matter what they are. Everyone wants something different. My opinion is that just because you are old enough to go to war, I do not think that you are necessarily ready to have a drink because, really, at age 18, are you really even ready to go to war? Probably not. Just because a person is allowed to go to war should not make them eligible to drink.
I don't think that the enlistment age would be moved up to 21. The recruiters have to be able to get kids when high school is coming to an end and the kids have no plans for college. Some 18 year olds will be deployed to countries with drinking ages set at 18. They will have the chance to drink. So don't worry about them. If you didn't enlist, you will not be going to war, so just because you're old enough to die for your country doesn't mean you will. Therefore you need no drank.
what about the people enlisted that get stationed in America. Also, the same age group that is enlisted in the military cannot even apply to get a concealed weapons permit. I am 19 years old and i live with my brother in a semi-bad part of town. Not being able to have a concealed weapons permit limits my abilities to protect my household. Even though i can have a firearm in my house i cannot carry it on me.
Andrew, A concealed weapon is not going to grant you any more protection than you have now. The choices you make now will Who you hang out with, what type of past time you do, ect.
The thought of a 19 year old having a concealed weapons permit could potentially infringe on my safety. I remember being very emotional at 19 years old.
I am emotionally stable. Stable enough to work 40+ hours a week and go to school full time and live on my own. My job requires me to be safe, so i can carry in my car. But outside of my car i cannot carry due to not having a concealed weapons permit.
Josh, how would this infringe your safety? Unless you go around taunting gun carrying 19 year olds i don't think you have much to worry about. Enlighten me, your posts always are so full of knowledge and information.
I have more than one Amanda in my classes, so I can't give you credit for this unless you put your full name on it.
Andrew I must say I agree with Josh on this matter. Because it to use to be 19 years old and statistically speaking a 19 year old male lacks the rational ablity to truely relate their actions to the consiquences that follow. You should look at the average age of the population of prison and at what age they committed their crime. As a young male insurance companies don't even lower your rates untill you turn 25 years old. Statictics say that this is the point in which must male start to mature. I must also say that having a gun on your person at that age, mixed with natural high levels of testosterone could and will most often then not lead to a very bad out come. Al to often while I was in the Marine Corps at 18 years old I would see this deadly combination, perhaps this is why the service like to get you while you are young. We, "young men" were broke down and formed into the "prefect killing machine." You can also look at most terrist for proof as well.
I must also say that having a gun on your person at that age, mixed with natural high levels of testosterone could and will most often then not lead to a very bad out come.
I meant to say it WILL lead to a very bad out-come.
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