Should The Age of Adulthood In America Be Changed

"If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness is the father." I had a college professor who used to say this quote attributed to Carl Stoddard (http://www.quotehd.com...). I don't know which applies to your life, or to the life of the average millennial. But the solution to either problem is "invention", synonymous with "innovation", & "entrepreneurship". How does one achieve those? "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." - Thomas Edison, 1932 'I know of no genius but the genius of hard work." - John Ruskin, 1878 "Genius is only a greater aptitude for patience." - George-Louis Leclerc, 1803 (http://www.phrases.org.uk...) If you would like to argue for affordable educational options, that is a solid suggestion for millennials facing challenges in the workforce. Education is hard work. It's the necessary perspiration that leads to genius. However, your proposal of extending the age of majority to 22 is a sledgehammer-for-a-flyswatter solution. You propose to not only remove significant legal rights for yourself and place additional financial and legal responsibility on your parents, but propose to make that absolution of individual rights and transfer of liability mandatory across an entire generation, and for all generations that follow. The age of majority has a far greater impact on your rights than free/cheap education because getting a job is hard. "We are the first generation that hasn't had the basics afforded to us by older generations. We have actually had to work and pay to get the bare minimum," you said. I laughed. A lot. I mean, really, really hard. I recommend a book called "The Fourth Turning" by Strauss & Howe, (c) 1997. These historians went back hundreds of years and noticed a generational cycle. Each generation lasts roughly twenty years. Each cycle shows a similar pattern for four generations: High, Awakening, Unraveling, Crisis. Each generation raised in their respective cycle period exhibits similar characteristics. Guess what? The Millennials are what they call "Heroes". (http://www.lifecourse.com...) Heroes are raised in an "Unraveling" era. Heroes, as a generation, handle and solve the "Crisis". You know what the last three crisis faced by your generational archetype? * the Great Depression and World War II, where 18-22 year olds went off to destroy Hitler, Nazis, and Japanese Imperialism. * The Civil War, where 18-22 year olds fought for the unification or separation of a nation, and abolishment of slavery. * The American Revolution, where 18-22 year olds fought for the freedom of a nation. Today the "Heroes"... when faced with global economic issues, rising temperatures, exponential population growth, terrorism, (and frankly), the worst set of Presidential candidates I've seen in my lifetime... want Mom and Dad forced to assume legal responsibility for an additional four years. Sorry, I can't sign off on that. At 18, you're an adult. Things are hard. I get it. You know what I tell my kids? "Level up." Millennials can dedicate 60 hours in a week to an X box game. When you start as a first-level character, you run around killing easy monsters or completing mundane tasks, and you "level up." No matter how powerless the character starts in whatever game you play, there are opportunities to "level up." Life works exactly the same. Find those opportunities. Innovate. Persperate. Don't pass a law that strips you of freedoms that enable gainful employment and makes your parents or the Government responsible for you for 4 more years. Thank you for the debate. I enjoyed it!