Newell-Fonda High School
Newell, Iowa
Teacher: Connie Doonan

 

 

 

A Rite of Passage

By Josh Nielsen

12th Grade

 

 

America is constantly changing. It goes from one trend to another trend in less than a century.  It used to be that American youth were the model children that all parents would give anything to have.  Now days, kids are doing things that would be unheard of for children of the early 1900’s.  The early children could make the transition from childhood to adulthood at earlier ages because they were taught about the responsibility that it takes to become an adult from day one.  Youth today feel that they don’t need to worry about the real world because they will cross that bridge when it comes.  They feel that they don’t need to make the transition because it isn’t worth it to become an adult.  Maybe if America would test the youth that is striving to become an adult, it would only have the responsible young men and women in the workplace.  That way more things would get done.  Yet there are already the underlying passages that already take place in America, Americans just don’t see them.  

           

Before discussing the need for a rite of passage, one must analyze the difference between adults and adolescence today.  Adults have full-time jobs, and don’t depend on their parents for financial support.  They are responsible for their own actions and can determine what’s right or wrong.  They are of legal age to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.  Marriage is common among adults today, as are children.  Adolescence, however, cannot distinguish between right and wrong, can’t make decisions on their own, and are not responsible for their own actions.  It’s the parent’s fault if children do some-thing wrong because they didn’t raise them correctly.  That’s not the way it should be. 

           

Although there are many differences between adults and adolescence, there are some similarities as well.  They can both be sexually active, as seen today in the statistics of teen pregnancy, they both drink alcohol (although it is illegal for young people to drink), and smoke.  Children think that in order to be an adult, they have to do the things that adults do.  Therefore, they will have sex, drink, smoke, and do other things that are considered unacceptable for young people today.

           

In saying that America needs a rite of passage, people are ignorant to the fact that America already has an underlying rite of passage.  Graduation from college and getting a start in the real world is a great rite of passage, yet most people think that doesn’t cut it anymore.  There has to be something else--something that will distinguish the young from the old.  They feel that America should make the transition from adolescence to adulthood with a test.  But if America did that it would be a step backwards.  It would be like saying that the US should be barbaric and tattoo all of the older people with the words “I am an adult,” and put a few piercings on their bodies.  Where will that get them?

           

When culture changes as much as it does in America, then why would we go back into the barbarian time?  The old days are over and the new days are in.  If there were a rite of passage in America then that would take away from the rights of the children.  There should be an equal opportunity to go out and be successful without having to be tested for it.  When some people say that back in their day, kids were more responsible and respected authority, well that’s true.  But in the current time, if a parent were to try and make the child respect authority, they get put in jail.  That’s why children today are so disrespectful.  They think that they can push their parents and teachers around because if they did anything to the child, they lose their job, and they become a “bad parent.”  If America brought back corporal punishment, it would solve a lot of the problems that parents and teachers have with their children and students.  They could properly put that child back in their place when they’ve been bad.  That way, the youth in America will respect their elders, and the problem of disrespect would be solved. These solutions would eliminate the need for a rite of passage in America and make the transition from childhood to adulthood smoother.