LR4N6FTW4EVA is a Teenager

Thank you for taking the time to consider this debate. The resolution which I intended to defend is the following: "LR4N6FTW4EVA is a teenager, and as a teenager he is recognized by society and law as being without life experience or education and is prone to foolishness." I will be making frequent references to the laws and constitution of the United States of America, so I ask that readers from other nations forgive me for not including the views of their societies on teenagers. Our society does not recognize the capability of teenagers to make good judgments, and there are many ways in which we do it. I will start with lofty national and philosophical considerations, and then proceed into lower levels, while examining the ages which are recognized. Federal levels tend to require older, wiser, and more experienced individuals than state and local authorities do. Let me bare witness to the fact that LR4N6FTW4EVA is a teenager. His own profile dictates such: "15-year old male in Hydes, Maryland, United States." First and foremost, I present to you the United States Constitution. A document which provides numerous considerations to the qualifications of age with regards to leadership and the ability to participate in the very basic level of our governmental franchise. To be the President of the United States of America, there is a minimum age requirement of 35. Indicating that our society does not believe that a person under the age of 35 should ever serve as the commander in chief of our military, nor the executive of our government. To be a United States Senator, there is a minimum age requirement of 30. Indicating that our society does not feel that an individual is capable of making complicated decisions regarding legislation and foreign policy until they are at least thirty. Any other qualification is not considered until they are able to be legally sworn in at the age of 30. Given the very formal and polite nature of discourse between United States Senators, and on the floor of the Senate it is clear that they believe that you are not able to act in good conduct with your gentleman peers until you are likewise 30. To be a member of the United States House of Representatives, you are required to be no less than 25 years old at the time of your oath of office. This is an indicator that our society believes that you are not able to make decisions regarding national budget priorities, nor does our nation accept are you able to represent or serve your constituents until you have experienced 25 years of life at a bare minimum. Initially in the United States it was law that an American citizen must be of 21 years of age in order to vote for holders of federal office. This is an indicator that when this nation first formed, and for many decades after that it was believed that a teenager of any age was not of world experience, intellect, nor wisdom enough to make decisions which impact every citizen, and the nation as a whole. It was recently decided in the latter half of the last century that since we were conscripting American citizens starting at the age of 18 that we should also lower the voting age to 18. The result of a lowering of the voting age has been arguably some of the worst and least effective Presidents in American history, Carter, Reagan, and Bush Jr. Gone are the days of electing statesmen such as Eisenhower, and FDR. This may not be a direct correlation, but perhaps shows that society over all has become less responsible and it has been expressed by lowering the voter age to the teen years. The Drinking age in this country was once a pretty standard 19 years old from State to State. It was increased to 21 years of age after the realization that 19 year olds were making alcohol much more accessible to young folks, who willingly and recklessly broke the law. It has been decided as a society that teenagers are ill equipped to be responsible enough to regulate their own consumption of alcohol. Cigarettes are not allowed to be purchased by individuals under the age of 18, because the same society has decided that teenagers are not able to make such important decisions regarding their own health. In many states, the restrict a teenager's ability to work and drive. In Iowa, for example, a person must be 18 years old to work past 10:00 PM, and there are curfews in place for drivers under the age of eighteen. The typical student does not usually complete their basic high school level education until the age of eighteen, at which point they have not been specialized in anything, nor do many have the opportunity to attend college lectures and classes, and be a part of leadership opportunities available to college students. It takes many more years of schooling to get a bachelors degree, and typically programs for a Masters degree take a year to three years depending on the subject, and while some Ph.D.s are completed in a couple of additional years, in some subjects it can take another five to seven years of graduate school to complete your course work and dissertation. While intelligence is an important factor in a persons ability to learn, it takes a substantial amount of time to review the course work required to become traditionally considered an educated person. A teenager simply has not had the time to develop their education. In fact, many teenagers are prone to quickly dismiss the education of their elders rather than respect the time that it takes to develop a broad education. The clearest distinction that our society shows to the fact that teenagers are considered to be without life experience, appropriate education, and are prone to foolishness is the existence of a separate court and judicial system for minors. It is presumed that teenagers will be less familiar with the laws of their society, so their punishments are less sever. They are expected to be foolish, so we do not hold them to the same level of responsibility that we hold offending adults to. And sometimes, the child simply doesn't know any better. In my closing argument of round 1, let me simply remind all of your of the simple adage, "With age comes experience." That is why the laws and structure of our society reflect the fact that teenagers are of little life experience, of little education, and are typically foolish.