Argumentative paper - Assignment Example

However, an objective observation of this issue and ready commonsense do indicate that Etzioni is highly misplaced in his beliefs. McDonald’s and other fast food outlets are actually safe and viable platforms for encouraging values like hard work and discipline amongst youngsters, while allowing them to earn money for investing in education and other value addition activities. One single belief that rings throughout the article written by Etzioni is his disbelief in the capabilities, decision making capacities and commitment of the contemporary teenagers.

Perhaps, Etzioni is totally oblivious of the fact that these so called “young, yet uninformed individuals (2)” he is so doubtful of could be much more informed and ambition driven than he expects them to be. Yes, it is true that some teenagers earning money from fast food chains may spend it in an irresponsible way. However, this fact could not be transposed on all the teenagers working with fast food chains in a much generalized context. Fast food chains only provide an avenue for earning money and acquiring skills to the teenagers.

They simply cannot have such a pervasive impact on the academic and career choices of the teenagers, if they are well placed in the basic values, which are mostly imparted at school and at home. So, fast food chains are in a sense neutral. If the parents and the schools do take pains to impart the right values to the kids and have confidence in them, there is nothing much to fear. The second peculiarity of Etzioni’s approach towards the issue is that the vantage point from which he tends to observe it is utterly distant from an understanding of the contemporary realities in which the teenagers live and grow.

Etzioni is still hovering in the era of “newspaper route and sidewalk lemonade stand (1)”, while the world has moved on into the realm of the internet and satellite TV. The teenagers today are much more informed and are introduced to the realities of life at quiet an early age as compared to what it was a few decades ago. The careers they aspire to pursue in the future mostly require an insight into and grounding in the way organized corporations work and operate. Besides, considering the rising cost of education, good earning opportunities during school days could somewhat cushion their college expenses at a later stage.

Fast food chains like McDonald’s facilitate the teenagers with both these requisites, and that too in a safe and regulated environment. Some critics of the teenage employment opportunities provided by fast food chains may seem right in suggesting that engaging in relatively high paid and comfortable jobs, with no opportunities for skill enhancement, at such a tender age may dilute the sense of ambition and aspiration in the teenagers. One thing that such individuals and groups need to realize is that fast food outlets are never supposed to inculcate ambition and drive in school going kids.

They are simply running a business, which extends an opportunity to the teenagers to work and earn. The work ethics and aspirations of the teenagers are influenced by a much larger environment, which includes the guidance, support and expectations extended by the family, the education and skills imparted by the schools, the extracurricular activities accessible to the teenagers,