Several times during my life, society has changed the age when a young person is considered a mature adult. In the 1950s, I could marry or drink alcohol when I turned eighteen. A male like my boyfriend, Ken, had to be twenty-one to do the same things, but he could join the U.S. Navy when he was eighteen. Both men and women had to be twenty-one to vote in elections.
I was an only child who spent most of my time with grown-ups. I felt like I was a little adult who became a big adult. Yet, my parents thought it was their duty to oversee my behavior no matter my age. They said, “You put your feet under our table, you abide by our rules.” I stayed with Dad and Mom until I married at twenty-one. Like most girls of that era, I’ve never lived alone.
During our 1979 family vacation, Ken and I plus our three children travelled west through many areas to see the sights. Our daughter, Lisa, who was eighteen that summer, wanted to join Ken and me drinking a beer with supper but we had to check the state laws where we were spending the night. Some allowed young women to consume alcohol at eighteen and others required them to be twenty-one.
Today, all young people in the United States must be 21 to drink alcohol. They can marry, vote and enlist in the service beginning at age eighteen. Allowances are made for some minors to make life-changing decisions for themselves at an earlier age.
One of the current discussions looks at the other end of the age spectrum, “Do people get too old to hold a government office?” The Constitution includes minimum ages for president and members of Congress but no maximum age.
To keep an Illinois driver’s license, older people must demonstrate to an examiner from the Secretary of State’s office that they can safely maneuver their car every year or two instead of just renewing it every four years.
If grown children think Dad or Mom has reached the point of needing supervision with daily business, they can go to court for a competency hearing.
Do you agree with current age requirements or do you think some should be changed?