Here in the UK the legal age for drinking is 18, the legal age for smoking is 18, the legal age for sex and marriage is 16 and of course there are ratings for films and video games etc.
My point is there are so many conflicting laws with age limits. Some of my school frineds joined the army when they were 16 and subsequently were goven the responsibility of handling lethal weapons and equipment worth tens of thousands of pounds, and yet they would not be able to legally do many of the things i mentioned above.
To show how stupid these laws are here are some examples of what they could and couldnt do at 16: They could haver sex but they would not be allowed to watch it. They would be able to get married but not have a drink on their wedding night. They have been trained as soldiers to kill people and yet legally wouldnt be able to play a video game or watch a film rated 18 because it is deemed too violent. I would not mind any of these things on their own but the fact that they all seem to conflict with each other makes it stupid. The government should put the ages for everything i have mentioned the same so there is a level of logic and consistency otherwise it just seems stupid and creates unfair complications.
These age limits are set because of legal issues, not because of a lack of development/maturity/"readiness" or whatever. It's concrete so that in the court of law there are no "maybes". Are there conflicts from a common sense standpoint? Yes, of course, but the legal system doesn't care about that.
I can see that they all serve a purpose however my main conclusion is that all these limits should be the same. This would give young people a clear idea of what the rules are eliminating the excuse of ignorance. It might also simplify court proceedings. I just think there should be one age when you are labelled an adult and at that age you can do anything and below that age you should be considered a minor(not in a legal sense) but so you cannot do anything.
What we really lack in the U.S. is a "rite of passage" that tells young people they are now adults. This probably needs to be some sort of experience that really slaps a young person in the face and wakes them up to the fact that their choices have consequences, and they had better be ready to cover the costs.
I would be fine if the voting age, drinking age, smoking age, age of consent, and military age, were all the same, with at least the understanding that responsibility means more than what most young people believe it does.
I was the same way as a kid, I thought I was immortal. I did a lot of really stupid things. I didn't always consider the consequences of my actions, and I paid the price. Somehow I managed to survive long enough to learn better.
