One of the more interesting issues in law, ethics, and religion is about when a person is legally responsible for their behavior. Any parent or teacher can tell stories of the mature eight-year-old and the immature 17-year-old. And how many times have you noticed the contradictions in federal laws that can draft an 18-year-old and put him (or her) in charge of multi-million-dollar pieces of equipment and lives of hundreds of people - but state law says the same person is not allowed to drink a beer. Or how the difference in one day - reaching a landmark birthday - impacts the legal permission to drive a car, get married, sign a contract, ignore a curfew, or be in charge of ones own educational and health decisions. I am not sure what the answer is, since I, for one, dont really want most seven-year-olds on the road with Corvettes. On the other hand, I have met enough amazing people who are part of our armed forces and who have not reached their 25th birthday to know that age is not a reliable indicator of the ability to make complex decisions successfully or take responsibility for their consequences. But, then, I dont like grade and age levels posted on books in the kids section of libraries. Comments?
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 13:07:10 +0000
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