Owen celebrates his eighteenth birthday today. With this birthday he takes on the responsibility of becoming a legal adult of the United States of America. He now possesses the right to vote, and if he chooses, the right to purchase tobacco products and/or pornographic videos. He registers for the draft and accepts that the U.S. Armed Forces possess the right to call on him at a time of war. Owen also accepts the responsibility to go to war when the armed forces call on him. It shows an obstruction of justice that the government classifies him as an adult in their time of need, but the society that the same government built still perceives him as a child by its standards. By this society’s standards, the three year waiting period from eighteen to twenty-one appears as a restriction; this restriction discriminates against the people in this age group because it gives them a false perspective of adulthood.
As well, age restrictions exist when attempting to attend certain entertainment establishments. They show no tolerance for people under twenty-one because they sell alcohol or for other reasons. After the concert, Owen’s friends suggest that they finish off the evening at a night club. When Owen presents his identification, the man at the door informs him of the twenty-one year age qualification. This infuriates him because of the age restriction still set against him even after he reached the legal age of adulthood. The age restriction limits Owen’s social interaction in society because he lacks the “twenty-one or older” qualification to consume alcohol, to gamble, and to enter certain establishments. However, at eighteen, he possesses the right to purchase a gun and engage in war conflicts for his country. One who reserves the right to legally bear arms unjustifiably reserves not the right to consume alcohol though it causes considerably less damage and
Example Essays Home
