Age for Legal Rights: Experience or Impulse?

Young adults should be able to enjoy their life while also practicing for the responsibilities
that come with adulthood. There has been debate about what the age of responsibility should
actually be for different adult legal rights. The question has been asked, “At what age should
people be given certain adult legal right(s)?” and we have managed to find two that we believe
are the most important to speak on. People should be considered an adult at the age of 16 for
the legal right of driving and, at the age 21 for enlisting into the military because it will offer more
opportunities for them while also providing very valuable driving experience and because they
will be considered adults with most legal rights when going into the military.
The adult legal right for driving should remain at 16. Lawmakers must keep the legal
driving age at 16 and we believe that it should remain that way because not only are young
people able to gain the driving experience needed to stay safe on the road but it can also open
up more doors of opportunity for them in life. In the article “What is the Age of Responsibility?”
Ronald Dahl maintains that, “If you give them freedom and they can handle it, then they get a
little bit more”(5). This connects to the idea that young people should be introduced to driving at
the age of 16 so that they can learn to handle driving. Also, according to a Johns Hopkins
University study, “States with strong GDL laws have cut accidents among young drivers by 40
percent, with injuries down 38 percent” (5). So this study shows that states that have allowed
young people to start driving younger and gain more experience behind the wheel, with heavy
regulation, have experienced a significant decrease in car crashes. While on the topic of gaining
experience, people should be given more time to live their life as normal citizens before being
allowed to enlist into the military which has the potential to seriously affect someone, physically
and mentally.
The adult legal right for enlisting into the military should be raised from 17 to 21 because
a teen with no “adult” rights should not be able to risk their lives for our country. In the article
“What is the Age of Responsibility?” Alan Greenblatt states, “But a 20- year-old Marine, just
back from patrolling the streets of Baghdad, would have to turn 21 before he could join a local
police force in most cities in the United States” (1). So, one is able to enlist into the military
before they are legally allowed to join law enforcement, and the military is far more dangerous
than typical law enforcement, so how is it they are too young to join the police force but old
enough to fight for the country. In the article “What is the Age of Responsibility?” Alan Greenblatt
also states, “And what they’ve found is that in most people, the prefrontal cortex and its links to
other regions of the brain are not fully formed until age 25—much later than anyone had
realized. These areas are the seat of “executive decision making”—the parts of the brain that
allow people to think through the likely consequences of an action, weigh the risks and benefits
and stop themselves from acting on impulse” (1). This discovery by scientists through use of
brain scanning further backs my point that the age should be raised to enlist because at the age
of 17 they are way too young to properly weigh out the risks that come with enlisting into the
military and make an informed decision.
There are those who would stand to disagree with our stance on these two legal rights
and what age they should be given at. Parents of teens may not like keeping the legal driving
age at 16 due to the fact that it can be very dangerous and one mistake could cost them their
lives, but with proper guidance and time, these accidents could be prevented and will benefit
everyone in the long run. This has been proven by data that shows letting young people drive at
16/17 with strict rules has significantly reduced the amount of crashes and accidents involving
them. The military may disagree with raising the legal enlistment age because they do gain a lot
of soldiers by recruiting in highschools and getting teens to enlist after they finish their senior
year but teens should be given more time to grow and experience their first few years of adult
life, because if they enlist at 18 then they will be risking their lives for our country before they
can even drink or join law enforcement.
So, for the adult legal rights of driving and enlisting into the military, the age should
remain at 16 for driving and should be raised to 21 for enlisting into the military. Keeping the
driving age the same gives young people time to practice safely driving and will allow them to be
more independent and reliable people. Raising the enlistment age gives young people a chance
to enjoy their teenhood without being given the chance to make the decision to enlist right after
highschool, possibly ruining but, definitely risking their lives before they are even considered
adults. These rights are possibly the most important ones that young people can obtain due to
how impactful they can be on not only their lives but the lives of others, which is why the age
that they are able to get them at is equally important.
Works Cited Page
Greenblatt, Alan. “What is the Age of Responsibility?” Governing, 30 Sept. 2009,
www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/What-is-the-Age.html.