Minors are Citizens, Too

I'm sick.

Sick and tired of being sick and tired of the myriad ways we treat our young people in this country as ignorants and incompetants. What is so magical about the age of 18? Nothing. Some 18 year olds are regurgitating fools while others are enlightened souls capable of seeing the issues from multiple perspectives, capable of good judgement, motivated to make the world a better place.

We are encouraging foolishness. This country was founded on the spilled blood of our youth. During the American Revolutionary War, there are records of boys as young as 7 serving. There was an 11 year old who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, with the official citation noting his birth date.

While I do not encourage any minor child to seek entry into the armed services, or escape the protections of the labor laws which are good policy and have developed for the protection of our young people, I think it is disgustingly hypocritical to say a person can sign up to potentially die for his or her country at 18, yet not be fully educated on what they are dying for prior to the enlistment period.

Obama's message is simple and non-partisan. It focuses on accountability. Is that not the same as what Bush Jr. was pretenting to advocate when he focused on standardized testing? (In actuality, he was probably seeking to profit politically off the big business of privatization of the public school systems.) Basically FOX news has just found another non-controversial issue and created drama to distract the American people from what is really important: this country.

Love,
Rani