February 6, 2008
New York Times
Author: Anya Kamenetz
At first glance, I thought this article was a satire. However, I read it once more and I discovered that the author was serious. The author felt that the age for voting should be lowered to sixteen, as well as the drinking age, and the age for marriage. While she did condone this, she also called for educational courses to educate teenagers in making the right decisions. For example, in order to legally drink at the age of sixteen, one must take an educational course on alcoholism. She provided a study that showed that students who had drank while in the company of their parents were less likely to overindulge when they were on their own or with friends. The author stated by letting a wider age range into the voting arena, the country would receive a more unbiased view on what the issues were in the country. The examples she gave were moral questions like execution, and the issue of serving in Iraq. Here is a quote that I think best sums up the article. "The more we treat teenagers as adults, the more they rise to our expectations. From a developmental and vocational point of view, the late teens are the right starting point for young people to think seriously about their futures. Government can help this process by bestowing rights along with responsibilities." While this author made some very good points, she was heavily biased and did not present the other side to this argument. Reading it was worthwhile, but I would have liked to seen the other point of view.
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5 comments:
Wow, this seems like a crazy idea. Even at twenty one people are not able to always control themselves. Nobody ever really takes those educational services seriously. WE all know the result of havong to much to drink and yet people still do it an die everyday. I think that at sixteen, people are too immature to make any of those desicions for themselves. I think that at one time people were more mature at this age and did make the right desicions, but today kids at that age are still being nurtured into young adults. These young people are worried about who they will go with to prom or if they're sweet sixteen and never been kissed. Most aren't worried about candidates who believe in pulling out of Iraq or partial birth abortions. I don't think ti would be fair to anyone to carry out this kind of a law.
This is a crazy idea indeed. Drinking age at 16 and expect them to be responsible with it? Come on, people of legal drinking age can't even be responsible with it. I completely disagree with this, lets give them a license then make it legal for them to drink. I'm sure tons of 16 year olds are getting drunk every night anyway. Why make it legal? Let them get in trouble for it, I think everyone can agree that 16 is not a very good age to legalize drinking or voting. You are just not mature enough yet to make such decisions.
This article is ridiculous. The drinking age should not be lowered to 16. The reason the drinking age is 21 now is becuase scientists have done research and found that a person's brain is still developping until 21 and it is much more likely you will make bad decisions with alcohol and more likely to become an alcoholic. If SCIENTISTS know that your brain isn't fully developed until you are nearing your 20's, you definitely should not be making any MAJOR decisions at 16. I'm 18 and I don't know anything about the presidential debate, so I don't even think 16 year olds would care. And I'm sorry, but no one is ready to be married at 16.
I think that it is ridiculous for somone to think they could be mature enough at 16 to marry, vote, and drink. There is no reason for someone in high school marry. It would only lead to more divorce and children that can not be provided for. At 16 someone is not able to make good enough decsions to drink or vote.
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