Once a person reaches the age of eighteen in America they are given the privilege of voting. Unfortunately, at the same time they are robbed of certain rights. I have always disagreed with the law in which adults under the age of 21 cannot purchase or consume alcohol legally. This law seems completely contradictory to me; I don't understand how our government can give us the right to choose our leaders or be sent off to war and given a machine gun and told to kill the enemy but deny us the right to legally buy a case of beer. This just does not make sense. This is only one example of how the youth of America are discriminated against based on their age. Another predominant example is

The airline industry has been involved in several age discrimination cases due to their pilot's required retirement policy; which states that pilots must retire at age 60. The airlines main concerns are that the pilots are not physically capable to perform job duties adequately after age 60. It is thought that job performance declines with increasing age. People may become less coordinated and attentive, develop slower reaction times, and may develop degenerative eyesight. The airlines feel that this is putting their company and passengers in danger if pilots over 60 are allowed to fly. The pilots often disagree and state they are as physically fit as younger pilots and have much more experience. One case we can relate this issue to is United Airlines, Inc. v. McMann. McMann joined United Airlines, Inc. in 1944, and continued employment there until his retirement at age 60 in 1973. At the time when McMann was first employed, United maintained a formal retirement income plan it had begun in 1941, in which McMann was eligible to participate, but was not compelled to join. He voluntarily joined the

people receive a far lower wage for the same job a twenty-five year old does. This is an issue that really needs to be addressed in today's society. Another way older people are discriminated against in terms of employment is that in far too many instances, if an older person and a younger person are applying for the same job it will often go to the younger person. This is a result of employers thinking that younger people are more capable of being productive at whatever they are employed to do than their older counterparts.

Older people are also discriminated against in many other ways besides employment. One venue that is abundant with age discrimination is the media today. Older people are portrayed in today's media as being people who are out-of-fashion, boring, non-tolerant, and in some cases stupid. I am sure that it is possible to find people that fit this scenario but the truth is that older people today have changed greatly from the last generation of older people. In my short time on this earth I have found no other age group that is more helpful and considerate than that of older people. I have grown to appreciate the time I spend with so-called "geezers" because they provide many different insights on life that I cannot obtain anywhere else. Older people have seen and been though so much during their life that should make us appreciate them as much as we can instead of putting them down.

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Approximate Word count = 1811
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)