My daughter turns 18 tomorrow; welcome to the world of grown-ups and all of the responsibility that comes with being an adult darling girl. Today you can’t vote, obtain a marriage license, tattoo yourself from head to toe, frequent pubs and clubs or adult bookshops, buy or consume alcohol, enter into legally binding contracts, buy equities or change your name but tomorrow, you can! Isn’t adulthood wonderful?
Having spent 6,574 days in the minors you’re now ready for the major league.
The age of majority is a legally fixed age or statutory principle that defines the threshold of adulthood in law. It is the chronological moment when a minor ceases to legally be considered a child and assumes control over themselves, their actions and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them. Yippee!
Unfortunately, the age of majority may not necessarily correspond to actual mental or physical maturity of an individual. However, with all of the antibiotic affected chicken consumed in the minors, and the subsequent effect this has had on the growth patterns of Generation X and Y, most major aspirants these days reach physical maturity, including Ronald McDonald size feet, well before their 18th birthday.
So what of their mental capacities? At age 18 most still view a burger, fries and coke as a balanced meal and find the assembly of the McCrappy toy challenging. This is the generation that has grown up with computers, where friends are described in cyber space numbering in the many hundreds, most of whom are friends of friends who just request to be added to your social network; where Facebook and texting are their preferred forms of communication and where information is mined from Google and intelligence collected from news websites that informs their view of the world, as long as it concurs with that of their peers.
So what of the upcoming Federal election and their first opportunity to exercise their democratic birthright? Interestingly, most of my daughter’s friends have not been charmed by Australia’s first ever female Prime Minister or the social significance of electing her to the top job. They have little interest in either parties election promises or policies and will vote according to the leader’s personal qualities, describing Ms Gillard as unenthusiastic and Mr Abbott as a ’prawn’ - see Status enews Issue 19 2010 for a discourse on Gen Y’s use of labels.
These people vote? Yes they do and although they aren’t able to articulate it just yet, they are developing social and political awareness. Among their greatest fears is Australia or Australians being subject to acts of terrorism or the collapse of society by manmade or natural events. They recognise and respect differing values of their friends because of the cultural diversity that exists amongst their social networks, and they hail the achievement of Barack Obama on becoming the first African American President of the United States.
This is only their first year at University, and with much radicalization to come, by the time of the next Federal election in 2013, I am certain there will be much more informed debate and discussion about the political agenda of the major combatants.
Adulthood has to start sometime, so why not at 18? Sociologists refer to the responsibilities bestowed on turning 18 as a ’right of passage’, and it really is a transition that can take many, many years before you earn the right to claim the title of ’adult’ - exercise it wisely.
So now that you’re legal, I don’t mind you changing your name to Lola, as you insisted on being known, in honour of the ’Kinks’, between days 1825 and 2555, and I can accept the partying and the drinking, in moderation of course, but please, no tattoos - not at least until day 18,250, by which time you really will be an adult, and I won’t be voting anymore.
Happy Birthday!
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