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November 16, 2005

Responsibility and youth

Dr. Helen doesn't seem to have trackbacks, so I'll just write my reaction to her entry about the Pennsylvania case here and post a link to it in her comments.

While I agree that personal responsibility is sorely lacking in American society these days, I think that the inclination to place the blame on the lack of boundries placed by parents and culture is wrong. Many kids are acting out and reacting to a situation they aren't comfortable with. There's a reason the Youth Rights movement is gaining strength, and a large part comes from an educated populace that realizes they are expected to shoulder responsibility while having to wait to be given rights.

I have a number of issues with how this story has been presented in the news, not least of which the constant description of the girl as a "kid". When I was 14, I was in no way a child. I was responsible for my own life and my own actions. Many teenagers are. To claim that someone becomes a full-fledged person at a specified age with no reason for said age doesn't work. Why is someone not a person one day, and then the next, because of something as silly as a birthday, they become a member of the social contract?

I'd like to see parents teaching their kids responsibility when they are young, rather than being shocked at their rebelliousness once the child grows up and new rules are suddenly instituted. As it is now, parents brush off things as "kids will be kids" and then one day, they start making all these new rules.

The best comparison I can think of is the Patriot Act. A large portion of the population, when suddenly faced with this new set of rules, flipped out. It's the same thing, on a smaller scale, with teenagers. Institute new rules at what seems like random, and they're going to react accordingly.

People forget that those little things running around have brains. Guess what? They think and react the same way adults do.

Another issue I had has to do with the comments on her post. One of the commenters wrote about statutory rape - Once the person is post-pubescent, and able to consent, there is no way in hell that should be a crime. It falls under the nanny-statism that Dr. Helen talks about.

Oh...Nanny-stating...right.

*sigh*

It is just as possible to have a mini-nannystate within your own home. If a person is controlled by an authority figure, with no ability to make their own decisions, that is just as bad as if the government was making the decisions. Parent or government...at times, it can be the same thing.

Work with your kids, rather than trying to control them.

Posted by Kat at November 16, 2005 12:38 PM

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Posted by: 'ju:femaiz at November 18, 2005 02:41 AM

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