Violation Curfew !

"Ten?" "What?" "Is it after ten?" "Yes." "You are violating curfew!" Lyrics from a popular rock song, this back-and-forth serves to illustrate contemporary sentiment towards the concept of an enforced curfew. Modern American children would never assume that this exchange would take place in their country; the tone with which the questions are asked is demanding, and the man responding to them is clearly being harshly interrogated. In fact, the music's style evokes a dystopian scene in listeners' minds. Certain varieties of youth curfews do exist in this country: Virginia requires teenage drivers to be off the roads after midnight unless accompanied by an adult or commuting to or from a school-sponsored event. However, …show more content…
One might argue that students can collaborate with peers before returning to their homes prior to the curfew time. However, many teenagers participate in activities that leave them with limited free time before late evening. Similarly, these activities can in fact extend into the night, meaning that a curfew would limit students' non-academic pursuits as well. For example, in Virginia's FCPS school system, varsity level sports competitions often end after or close to ten in the evening, the hypothetical city's proposed weekday curfew time. More important than the impractical limitations a curfew would place on today's youth, instituting such a measure would be oppressive. It is very unlikely that any modern democratic nations--other than those at war--currently have a curfew for youth or the general public in place. It would not be surprising if the presence of a curfew is considered by world peace organizations as being among the possible indicators of an authoritarian regime. As adolescents are in a period of transition to adulthood, they actively look for opportunities to prepare themselves for the freedoms this fast-approaching status will afford them. One example of such a phenomenon