Eric Sandarg
English 1102
17 February 2012

The Government’s Matrix

Have you ever felt powerless in life, almost as if there is another force that is controlling the society in which we live? Good, because there is. We know it as the government. This is the group of individuals that we ourselves have chosen to create a sense of order and discipline for the nation in which we reside. Sometimes, however, laws are created that are out of our control and make no sense to us. This leaves us feeling as if we have no say in issues that directly concern us. We are living in our own government’s matrix. This exact sense of control can be seen in a few specific laws that the United States government has made. I am referring to the laws regarding the ages of consent that have been put in place, namely drinking and sexual consent. The law for consumption of alcohol is defined as such: “The legal drinking age in Georgia is 21, as it is in all states” ((Powell, Jonathan A. Par. 4) The law regarding sexual consent is similar: “A person commits the offense of statutory rape when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 16 years and not his or her spouse, provided that no conviction shall be had for this offense on the unsupported testimony of the victim” (US Law Justia. Par. 1) In an attempt to regulate people under these various legal ages from participating in activities involving these things, the government has placed these ‘safeguards’ on our society and attempted to enforce them. Most of these laws are targeted at restricting teenagers, as the ages of consent are 21 and 18 respectively. These laws really only stop teenagers from legally purchasing alcohol and having sex. If teenagers wish to become involved in sex and drinking, they will most certainly find a way to do so. As said by Jonathan A. Powell, “…many underage persons regularly purchase alcohol from licensed alcohol establishments…”. (Powell, Jonathan A. Par. 2) In the 1980’s the legal age for the consumption of alcohol was raised from 18 to 21, through the enforcement of the Uniform Drinking Age Act (Koyin Chang et al. Par 3) The government decided that the number of road fatalities due to alcohol was too high, and by reducing the percentage of the population that could legally purchase the substance this number would decrease. There were no significant changes. This is a perfect example of an authoritative body trying to control our society by placing and enforcing restrictions on the way we live our lives. Whilst there have been substantial numbers of studies that have showed alcohol can affect the developing brain in teenagers, the brain is not developing any more after the age of 21 than it is at 18. So if the primary reason behind the raising of the legal drinking age was to reduce alcohol related road fatalities, it hasn’t worked. In a study conducted by the American Medical Association, results showed that “…zero tolerance laws and increased beer taxes are the most effective policies in reducing alcohol-related fatalities…”, not increasing the legal drinking age. (Koyin Chang et al. Par. 5) If anything, this law may have actually increased the percentage of underage drinking amongst teenagers. Everyone knows that teenagers do not respond well to being restricted, and have the natural tendency to want to rebel in any way possible. The most obvious way in this case is to obtain alcohol illegally and consume it illegally too. The act of doing something illegally and against the will of others provides a natural addiction for teenagers. This is dangerous not only for the individual but for the family and friends as well. Why not, therefore, reduce the drinking age to what it formerly was? There is no current purpose for it except for the thrill of control that the government experiences when they impose their opinions and rules upon society. Although drinking is a large issue, the law that is constantly debated amongst society both in and out of the courts is the age for sexual consent. There is endless controversy over this law amongst the public and by and large the opinions are split equally. In the state of Georgia, the age of consent is 16 years old for both males and females. This is the age at which, in the eyes of the law, a person is valid to make their own decision about whether or not they can have sex. Even if someone under the age of 16 fully consents to the act of sex with an older person, this can be severely punished. It is an offence known as ‘statutory rape’ in the United States and can result in very long sentences or life imprisonment. The idea that young people should not be having sex is an idea of the past: its justifications are outdated and do not hold up well in modern society. Age of consent laws originated from a ‘purity campaign’ in Britain in the 1800s, when the public believed that sex was a ‘male privilege’ and that it led to the ruin of young women. Society is far more aware of the dangers of sex nowadays and children are constantly becoming exposed to sexual education at younger and younger ages at school. It seems trivial to be basing our laws and controlling society on beliefs that existed two hundred years ago. Let me correct myself, it is trivial. I still agree that children need protection from sexual offenders, and understand that this is the primary reason for the law. However, many relationships between people of similar ages - for example an eighteen year-old and a fifteen year-old - may be criminalized under this law. I have a problem when a person has sexual relations with someone under the age of sixteen, fully consensual, and is thrown in prison with mass murderers, rapists and actual pedophiles. Has justice been served there?
The controversy surrounding the age of consent relates back to the role of the government and its controlling nature. The function of the government is to maintain a sense of peace and order, not to control and restrict in the lives of citizens, especially those who have mutually consented to participating in a private act. This is not what this law represents of the body of authority. It represents exactly what the concept of a matrix is; absolute control and power over helpless ‘pawns’ that are the citizens of society.
The matrix, with reference to the film and a ‘simulated’ and ‘virtual’ world, does not exist. However, we do not have to look far in the world we live before we notice a matrix, but rather look hard. This is exactly why the control that the government imposes upon us is the matrix of our world, because until we consciously search for it and are aware of it we do not notice it; the classic feature of a matrix. The age laws of sexual consent and legal consumption of alcohol are restrictions that we are so used to that we simply accept them. We do not see the proverbial chains that have been placed upon our hands and feet in an attempt to stop us from acting and living how we really want to. But what is the plan of attack? How can we fight this imprisonment that we are facing? After all, who do we run to… the government?

Works Cited

Koyin Chang, Chin-Chih Wu, and Yung-Hsiang Ying. "The Effectiveness Of Alcohol Control Policies On Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities In The United States." Accident Analysis And Prevention (n.d.): ScienceDirect. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.

Powell, Jonathan A. Factors Associated With The Illegal Sales Of Alcohol To Underage Persons In Georgia [Electronic Resource] / By Jonathan A. Powell. 2009. GEORGIA STATE UNIV's Catalog. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.

US Law, Justia. 2010. Georgia Code “TITLE 16 - CRIMES AND OFFENSES CHAPTER 6 - SEXUAL OFFENSES 
§ 16-6-3” - Statutory rape. Justia, 2010. Web. <http://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-16/chapter-6/16-6-3/>. 5 Feb 2012.