18 Or 21?

"The Right to Drink"

By: Kyle Langley

            When a citizen of the United State of America turns 18 years old, do they receive all of the rights of being an American citizen? No.  18 year olds are entitled to almost every right, with alcohol being the biggest exception.  Alcohol drinking age has been in debate for many generations with people across the political spectrum taking their own independent side.

            Since the birth of the United States, the legal age to drink alcohol has always been 21 years old (Office of Science Policy Analysis).  However, the age at which most citizens earn all of their rights is 18 years old.  This difference in rights has been a prevalent issue in US politics and in the average American household.

           Supporters of lowering the age claim that it is outrageous to legally considered an adult, yet not have the right to drink alcohol.  They ask critics, “If a person is old enough to vote for the leader of their nation, fight and die in service of their country, and be legally considered an adult, should not they have the right to consume alcohol?”  Logically, this point makes sense.  If a person is legally considered an adult and receives almost all of their rights at the age of 18, they should also be allowed to consume alcohol.  The point of the statement is to show that the law is not about age, but about maturity.

            Maturity is often hard to make a law about.  After all, a 15 year old should be more mature than an 8 year old. Yet, there are a few 18 year olds who are more mature than some 21 year olds.  Is the difference of three years at that age really a day and night difference?  After all, most alcohol related issues stem from lack of responsibility not tolerance.

            The supporters claim lowering the age will improve public safety and lower alcohol related crime (Cognac).  They assert that many kids already drink alcohol before the age of 21.  Since it is illegal for the kids to do so, they will go behind their parent’s backs to drink alcohol in a “Non-Safe” environment.  If the law were to be changed, these young adults would be drinking alcohol in the presence of responsible  adults thus reducing the risk to the young adults.  According to proponents of lowering the drinking age, drunk driving and underage drinking will be lowered.  8% of of underage citizens drive after drinking alcohol and 18% binge drink alcohol  in the United States (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).  Some of these citizens must drive home because they were not supposed to be out drinking in the first place.  Since most of those people in the 18% percentile are over the age of 18, lowering the age of drinking will lower the number of underage drinking crimes.

            No matter what age someone may be, alcohol is dangerous as it affects the liver, hormones, and brain (CDC.).  The biggest effect that alcohol has is in on the brain.  At 18 years of age, the brain is still greatly developing.  Scientist have determined that at 21 years of age, the brain’s development is incredibly reduced (CDC.).  Alcohol affects the brain much more at 18 years old than 21 years old.  Parents, scientists, and politicians have used this fact to keep the drinking age set to 21.  

            After 200 years of having the drinking age set to 21 years old, many people want and fight to lower it to 18 years old like the rest of the world.  Almost all laws recognize and give all responsibilities to citizens at 18 years old instead of 21 years old.  This irregularity has caused much confusion and debate for American citizens.  Lastly, the medical evidence and the Center for Disease Control urges the American government to keep the age restriction.  However, American citizens are allowed to participate in many dangerous activities and put themselves in harm’s way at 18 years old.  The alcohol drinking age should be lowered to keep our laws consistent and ensure that 18 year olds are considered fully adults in the eyes of the law.  

Sources:

CDC. "Alcohol and Public Health." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for     

Disease Control and Prevention, 31 Mar. 2017. Web. 03 May 2017.

Office of Science Policy Analysis. "Underage Drinking." National Institutes of Health.             

U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services, 01 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 May 2017.

Choose Responsibility. "DRINKING AND CULTURE: INTERNATIONAL             

COMPARISONS." Choose Responsibility. Choose Responsibility, 23 Mar. 2012. Web.     03 May 2017.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. "Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking." Centers for      

Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Oct.     2016. Web. 03 May 2017

The Second Amendment

“The Second Amendment”

 By: Kyle Langley

            The Second Amendment not only means freedom to bear arms, but is an insurance against a possible corrupt government who might take our rights and liberties away.  The Second Amendment is one of the least understood and has less authority according to many people.  This could not be further from the truth.  Many people who do not approve of the Second Amendment do not understand it nor have shot a firearm. 

            Recently, many news-agencies and social media web-sites have published videos and articles of people, who are indifferent or opposed to the right to bear arms, shooting guns for the first time. As expected, always half of the group changes their mind about firearms and some even consider purchasing one.  When more of the population learns and understands what the Second Amendment means, the more support people will have for it.  I have been able to draw on my experiences with firearms to show strangers and friends what the Second Amendment means.

            When I was a little boy I knew little of firearms, let alone the Second Amendment, but I was fascinated with them.  Since I was making guns out of toast when I was five years old, my parents knew that something had to be done.  My parents decided to teach me proper gun safety and protocol the next time we had to opportunity to shoot. 

                       My passion for firearms lead me to join a competitive rifle team, where I learned that guns also require a great amount of skill and prowess to use.  Because of my achievements in competitive rifle shooting, I was asked by the former coach of the Rio Salado Air Rifle Team to join them.  This opportunity allowed to receive coaching and equipment that would help me win the Junior Olympic State match and go on to compete in the National Junior Olympic Championships.  Since I had the chance to gain of these experiences, I passed on my knowledge of rifles and shooting to others.  I was able to show many people, mainly during my tenure as Youth State Governor, that guns are not tools for evil but are made for much more.

            Because of my experiences, it has led me to have a deep understanding and respect for guns.  I realize that there is no single-purpose for these tools.  They can be used for hunting, sports, and protection.  Because our founding fathers saw this, they knew they had to secure our right to possess and use these tools.  The Second Amendment means the right to bear arms and to protect all of our rights given to us in the Constitution.

The Seal of the Sea

The Seal of the Sea

By: Kyle Langley
            How does one sum up the most powerful naval fleet in one image?  On October 23, 1957, President of the United States of America Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order.  Thus, birthed the current and official seal of the United States of America Department of the Navy.  The official seal of the Department of the Navy has represented and conveyed the meaning and what is means to serve in the United States Navy.
                 This powerful and influential seal displays a ship similar to the U.S.S. Constitution sailing next to a land mass with a bald eagle sitting on an anchor and the land mass.  This image is all surrounded by gold words circling on a blue background that read “Department of the Navy” and “United States of America”.  The ship in this image, displays a commission pennant on top the first sail, a national ensign atop the main sail, and the commodore's flag flown on the rear sail.  This seal has many distinct aspects that encompasses what the Department of the Navy is.
     The use of a old sailing ship similar to the U.S.S. Constitution represents where the Department of the Navy has come from.  That class of ship is one of the earliest ships ever built.  Those ships back then demonstrated the power and integrity of the United States Navy.  Not only does the ship pay respects to the newborn United States, but the three flags atop the ship do so as well.  For the average onlooker, the flags might go unnoticed, but if one were to pay closer attention they would the three waving flags.  The first flag, the national ensign, displays the original national ensign that was used over 200 years ago.  The second flag is a standard United States national flag.  Finally, the third flag is the commodore’s flag.  The commodore’s flag shows 15 white stars on a blue background.  The 15 stars represent the number of US states during that time that commodore flag was made.  To display such a ship with its flags, shows that the Department of the Navy has not changed and will continue to powerful and respectful to its roots.
     Probably the most interesting part about the seal is the bald eagle that is standing on the anchor and land mass.  The bald eagle is probably the most important part about this seal as it is the classical imagery for freedom and unifies the two part of the Department of the Navy.  The Department of the Navy has two keys sections to it: The Navy and the Marine Corps.  The bald eagle has one foot on anchor and one foot on the land mass.  The anchor represents the Navy while the land mass represents the Marine Corps.  The bald eagle, in this seal, also acts as the Department of the Navy join the Navy and the Marine Corps.  Not only is the bald eagle standing on both the anchor and landmass, but it also has its wings outstretched to protect the anchor, landmass, and the ship.  With the wings outstretched the bald eagle also has gold unwavering eyes.  The action of the bald eagle shows that the Department of the Navy will not give up and will protect its service men and women unyieldingly.
     The final part to the seal is the outside words and edging.  Above the center image are the words “Department of the Navy” in gold.  The words are carefully placed above the image so that an onlooker will notice those words first.  Gold is used for the font color to signify honor and power.  Below the image are the words “United States of America”.  The reason for the words is for people to identify what this seal is about and for what country.  Needing a proper background for the words, the seal displays the official Naval Blue color to contrast the gold lettering.  The Naval Blue color brings a sense of familiarity as service members and veterans will easily recognize it.  Surrounding the entire seal is golden embroidery with a single golden line.  The use of embroidery is very commonplace and almost expected with proper and official military seal.  Finally, the single gold line marks the end edge of the entire seal.  The use of embroidery, familiar colors, and the words makes the seal known to all that it is the official seal of the Department of the Navy.
            It is no surprise that the official seal of the Department of the Navy would have many details and deep meaning symbolism.  The seal shows impressive imagery that brings out the qualities and the unification of the Department of the Navy.  After 60 years, it is not wonder that this seal has remained the same, since it does a tremendous job of represent what the Department of the Navy means while unifying both of its branches.  The official seal of the Department of the Navy sums up the most powerful naval force and unifies the Navy and the Marine Corps.

Online vs. Conventional dating

Online vs. Conventional dating

By: Kyle Langley

            For as long as modern society can remember there has usually been one method to date someone, until the evolution of technology changed that.  Online dating has taken the world by storm, and many companies have capitalized on that fact.  These businesses, EHarmony, Match.com, and many more, are transforming the way how we date.  With all of this hype and promise for an easy dating life, people are asking a simple question, does it work?  The best way to inspect and determine if online dating lives up to the hype, is to compare it to the regular in-person dating in three categories: access, interaction, and success.

            The first part of evaluating different dating methods is to compare their accessibility with one another and see which methods has the easiest process to date someone.  Online dating boast an enormous ease of access.  This ease of access refers to two subjects: creating an account and logging into that account to use.  You can create an online dating profile, in the comfort of your home while you are in your Pjs, in usually 10-50 minutes.  After you create an account, it is easy to log into it and start the process of looking for possible “matches” or “dates”.  To begin the process of dating someone in-person, is another story.  Some people might be able to find someone in a casual situation, while most people will put a lot of effort and time into searching for someone.  To began to date someone in-person, you must make yourself look presentable and go outside your house or even your comfort zone.  Then to continue dating a person or look at other possibilities, you must again repeat the process.  Online dating presents a fast and easy solution to a usually laborious and maybe awkward situation.  It appears that online dating has a clear advantage over conventional dating when comparing the ease of access.        

            Interaction is the actual date itself and drives the desire for future dates.  Drawing back on the previously mentioned possible way of meeting someone the conventional way, conventional dating gives the person one or two main talking points in common.  While there may be an air of unfamiliarity, this gives the opportunity for each person to personally get to know the other.  Online dating already gives the person a lot of information before hand, to better prepare them.  The person may be more prepared going into the date, but may not be surprised when they talk about a subject they already knew about.  In the interaction aspect, it is up to the person whether they want to be more prepared beforehand, or find out about the person along the way.

            Success is the last measure at which these two methods are being compared on.  With online dating, getting the second date is harder than getting a first date.  Online dating provides you with lots of different matches that may seem perfect, but a first date will quickly reveal any inconsistency in a person’s profile.  Conventional dating is opposite.  Asking a person out in person usually is a much more stressful and laborious process as you might have to continue meeting with these people if the date does not work out.  But, if someone does ask another person out in person and they do get the date, they are more likely to continue dating.  The reason for this might be because the people know each other in person beforehand.

            Online dating as without a doubt change the way we consider dating someone.  When looking at the accessibility, online dating has an advantage over conventional dating.   Yet, the interactions and successiveness of the dates usually go better when people meet the traditional way.  In the end, it ultimately is up to the person if they want to choose online dating or conventional dating.  The best advice is to try both.

Sup, Brah?

Sup, Brah?

By: Kyle Langley

Have you ever noticed how much we use slang words now?  It almost seems as if we cannot go a day with out using a modern informal word.  Over the past decade, slang words have become increasingly popular especially among the younger generations. Why is that?

The reason we use slang words is to convey a point or a situation.  Instead of saying "hello" you could say "Sup, brah."  By saying the latter, you are showing the other person that you are more relaxed and enjoying life.  Slang words in some ways are more useful than the 100% formal words we have been using.  Unfortunately, some people us slang words more than they use traditional formal words.  This over-use of the words have given the slang words a bad reputation.  Next time you find yourself about to say a slang word, think about what it actually is conveying.

What is Big. Beefy. Bliss?

What is Big. Beefy. Bliss?

by Kyle Langley

    

     One of the largest and biggest markets in the world is the fast food industry.  Competitors are constantly trying to "One-up" their competition by offering new and better food for lower prices.  But in order to get the customer to come through your door, you must capture their attention and show them that you have what they need.  Several companies have launched massive campaigns to get the attention of consumers. 

     Take the following above image for example.  Its purpose is to appeal to as many people as possible.  The target audience are people who are not satisfied with the current selection of burgers and want something bigger and better.  The advertisement displays three options for burgers that are all bigger and beefier than the standard burger. This imagery, tries to convey that "McDonald's" has bigger and beefier burgers than their competitors.  

     Staying true to their colors, the background of the picture is the classic "McDonald's" red accompanied by their logo.  This classic color and logo will reassure the consumer that the experience will be the same except for the bigger burger.  The three burgers confidently displayed in the advertisement are immaculate looking and perfectly coincide with the above message of big, beefy, and bliss.

  Big, beefy, and bliss are used as the key words to try to entice and appeal to people's wants.  Some may want a bigger burger, but everybody wants a burger that is beefy.  The last word "Bliss" is the clincher word.  It conveys a sense of relief and bliss when you eat of of those burgers. 

     This short but sweet advertisement does a wonderful job to get the onlooker to think about digging into one of the above burgers.  It perfectly performs its job to attract the attention of someone, show them their merchandise, and conveys a tone of blissfulness while eating one of their burgers.

Alternative for Middle to Low Income Parents of Gifted Kids

Alternative for Middle to Low Income Parents of Gifted Kids
By: Kyle Langley

     Each year thousands of gifted kids from across the country will start school with stellar performance, but will soon succumb to some of the weaknesses in the public education system. Their parents struggle to find ways to them on the right track, despite financial hardships.

     Oliver Davis is a 8 year old student attending one of the most advanced and honored private schools in the country. He is lucky.  When he was 7, Oliver was already learning 5 different languages and calculating math equations far ahead of his grade level. Oliver's parents recognized his potential and knew that the public school education would only hold him back. However, this pristine education comes at a cost. Oliver's parents must work two jobs in order to pay the $25,000 a year tuition to send him there.

     Almost all parents cannot afford to make that huge of a financial sacrifice, but still want their kids to succeed in their academics without using the public schools. In the 1970s A man by the name of John Holt came up with an idea, Modern Homeschooling.

     Modern Homeschooling allows more freedom to the students. If a student wanted to volunteer or participate in an honor program during the weekday mornings, now they have the option to. Gifted students can now find what grade level they should be at and study from there. In a recent report, Homeshoolers tested in the top 80th percentile of standardized tests. Because the students are at the house during "school hours" they have the opportunity to learn valuable life skills: change tire, pay taxes, and take care of others. Since Homeschooling is so great, how can there be any disadvantages?

     One of the biggest issues with Homeschooling right now is the huge time commitment. While Homeschooling might save parents' pocket books, it will throw a wrench in their day planners. To correct this issue, former teachers and professors have set up Homeschooling cooperatives. Unfortunately, most of these programs are not known to the parents.

     Homeschooling is a great alternative to an issue that appears to have no solution.  As time goes on, Homeschooling programs will improve to hopefully remedy some of the issue parents face.