Double Standards
The drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to
eighteen. The reason I believe this has to happen is because
our country is built on the principles that we are all equal and
should be treated the same. So don’t you want to know why a
person who is considered an adult in every situation except
one when he or she turns eighteen.
One of the most important rights in the world is given to
hundreds of American citizens who turn eighteen each year.
These young adults now have the right to participate in the
election of the most powerful man in the entire world, our
president. Now lets think about this these young adults help
elect their local, state, and federal government officials to run
our country. So what I want to know is “why are these young
adults allowed to elect the most powerful man in the world,
but yet they are considered to be too young or not responsible
enough to drink alcohol.”
I am sure you all remember when Fargo sent its very own
national guard over seas. They weren’t in any real serious
danger and they all did a good job serving their country.
However they had many soldiers that went that were only
eighteen, nineteen, and twenty. Now these men served their
country proudly and did the best the could, that takes a lot of
nerve to tell them that “Yeah, you can go over seas and even
get shot at, but you just aren’t old enough to have a beer.” Do
you see what is wrong with this yet?
This last example I have for you is the one that makes me
the most upset. When you turn eighteen and sometimes they
say even before you turn eighteen you will be tried as an adult.
Now we have rules for a reason and those rules need to be
followed not bent or misused. Now I know you are wondering,
“What is he talking about?” Well, I will tell you. When a sixteenyear-old boy commits a horrible crime, he is usually tried as an
adult, well now how can this be right? You are bending the
rules just because you don’t want this boy out in public. Don’t
get me wrong, I believe if an adult commits a crime he or she
should be punished but when you set an age on something
you should stick with it and not bend it for certain situations
that you think should be altered for different people. It’s the
same with drinking. You are an adult when you are eighteen
and are subject to every law and the strictest punishments
under the United States Judicial system, but again you are not
old enough to have an alcoholic drink.
I have tried to show you as many examples of this double
standard as possible. I find it to be irritating because I am only
nineteen years old and my country expects me to act and it will
treat me like an adult in all situations except this one. I have
to pay taxes, I am allowed to elect our leaders, I can and would
go to war for my country to protect her, and I will be punished
as an adult if I commit a crime. So why in every situation
except for one am I considered an adult? Double standards are
wrong and yet the most powerful country in the world has
them. Even though it may seem small, it is still wrong.
This is my work sited that proves I am not alone in my opinion.
The Drinking Age 4 December, 2000
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