Society's Restrictions on Today's Citizen
Amber Champion
December 1, 2012
SPC 2608 In today’s society there seems to be many different restrictions in place. Many people would say too many. For example, restrictions on the minimum age requirement before you are allowed to drive a vehicle, minimum height requirements for children and adults in order to be able to ride a roller-coaster, and how old you have to be in order to legally be allowed to consume alcoholic beverages. Although, many of these restrictions are in place to ensure the safety of not only ourselves, but others as well, many people wonder if all of these restrictions are really necessary? There are even instances where the restrictions in place seem to contradict themselves. A prime example of this is the difference between the age at which a person is allowed to drink alcohol and the age at which the same person is allowed to join the military and engage in life threatening combat. It is general knowledge that for the most part the legal drinking age in the United States is 21 years of age. This is largely a result of the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Act of 1984 when the Federal government linked the receipt of federal funding to the individual state’s compliance with enacting legislation that would prohibit drinking under the age of 21 except in certain instances involving religious occasions or family supervision. However, it is common knowledge that the legal age to join the United States military is 18 years of age. Who can say that fighting for our country is not just as dangerous as drinking alcohol? In my opinion, it is not right to say that an 18-year-old is considered “adult enough” to make the decision to put their lives on the line for our country yet they are not old enough to make their own choice whether or not to consume alcohol. Many people will argue that alcohol is dangerous and they are right. There are innumerable statistics that show the correlation between drinking while driving and an
December 1, 2012
SPC 2608 In today’s society there seems to be many different restrictions in place. Many people would say too many. For example, restrictions on the minimum age requirement before you are allowed to drive a vehicle, minimum height requirements for children and adults in order to be able to ride a roller-coaster, and how old you have to be in order to legally be allowed to consume alcoholic beverages. Although, many of these restrictions are in place to ensure the safety of not only ourselves, but others as well, many people wonder if all of these restrictions are really necessary? There are even instances where the restrictions in place seem to contradict themselves. A prime example of this is the difference between the age at which a person is allowed to drink alcohol and the age at which the same person is allowed to join the military and engage in life threatening combat. It is general knowledge that for the most part the legal drinking age in the United States is 21 years of age. This is largely a result of the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Act of 1984 when the Federal government linked the receipt of federal funding to the individual state’s compliance with enacting legislation that would prohibit drinking under the age of 21 except in certain instances involving religious occasions or family supervision. However, it is common knowledge that the legal age to join the United States military is 18 years of age. Who can say that fighting for our country is not just as dangerous as drinking alcohol? In my opinion, it is not right to say that an 18-year-old is considered “adult enough” to make the decision to put their lives on the line for our country yet they are not old enough to make their own choice whether or not to consume alcohol. Many people will argue that alcohol is dangerous and they are right. There are innumerable statistics that show the correlation between drinking while driving and an