A line needs to be drawn somewhere (since I doubt that you are you suggesting that a five year-old child should be considered "adult" enough to consent to sexual activity or that a ten year-old should be able to legally drive.) Where we draw the line is based upon culture, tradition, and sometimes it will shift up or down based on societal or technological changes. (And _all_ societies are like this, not just this one; a line is drawn in the sand to divide the adults from the children.)
Yeah, I know it sounds lame, but as a matter of fact you _will_ have a better perspective upon the folly of your youth once you are well past it.
I'd contend that with youth I have a better perspective on the folly of your adulthood just as you can perceive the folly of my youth. (I'm 17.)
What makes your later view more correct than my earlier view, on this one?
Accumulated experience generally correlates with more appropriate responses, granted. But inappropriate experiences lead to inappropriate responses. How do you verify that your experiences have led to correct conclusions? They are influenced by the society in which you live. And society (the entity itself, not the collection of people involved) generally prefers the status quo, because of natural selection.
Of course there must be a line. There is a minimum level of development necessary for reasonable integration into a society with a specific set of values and expectations. But humans mature at different rates. Age is not the appropriate unit to be using, here. We need a measurement of an individual's ability to _grow_ from immersion in the adult world. Instead of the SATs, we need CATs... Coping Aptitude Tests. It's not such a big leap for the College Board, either. (Now all that's left is to figure out how to measure maturity. Sweet deal.)
> I'd contend that with youth I have a better perspective on the folly of your adulthood just as you can perceive the folly of my youth. (I'm 17.) What makes your later view more correct than my earlier view, on this one?
Simple, I have experienced life from both perspectives while you have not. You have no basis for evaluating the folly of my adulthood because you have never experienced your own adulthood, while all of us who have made it this far fondly remember the joys and certainties of our youth. I do so miss that period of youthful rebellion, when we managed to figure out a couple of things about life and felt we were ready to pass judgement on everything around us; this conversation is already maxing out my deja vu quota for the week. Enjoy your youth and keep true to what you believe, it is the only way you will ever effect any change in the world, even though the particular cause that started this thread is a fools errand.
This is exactly what I was thinking, but I couldn't come up with a way to articulate it as well as you did. I wanted to add that as you gain experience and wisdom, you may see just how hard it is to change society to behave in the 'ideal' fashion. Meaning as you become older, you learn better how to adapt to what society is and lose the desire to make society what you want it to be, simply because you learn that the former will give you results much quicker.
Yeah, I know it sounds lame, but as a matter of fact you _will_ have a better perspective upon the folly of your youth once you are well past it.