My youngest son will be 18 in a few weeks. Seventeen has been quite trying for him.
He could have joined the army if he so wished yet is not allowed to buy Call of Duty in the shops. He can fire a live gun but not a simulated computer one.
He can’t vote, which if he did enlist seems unfair. The elected government of his elders could send him off to war. That government might not have got in had his generation had a vote.
He can get married and father a baby but cannot adopt a child. At his wedding he would not be allowed to drink.
He could join a band yet at certain venues not be allowed in to watch.
He could leave home and set up a house himself yet he can’t buy a knife. So it would be a forks and spoons only existence.
He can’t put a bet on at the bookmakers but can buy a lottery ticket.
He’s not allowed to smoke or purchase fireworks yet he could have been an apprentice welder. (Made that last one up myself, you can tell, can’t you?)
The last time he felt as bad as this was on one of our many journey’s to Blackpool Pleasure Beach. He was at that height that he was too big to be allowed on the kiddie rides and too small to go on the more adult-themed coasters. At every turnstile we had to go through the rigour of the height defining pole. A few times he ducked slightly or stood on tip-toes but the operator wasn’t having any of it. In a few weeks time I’ll buy him a drink and welcome him to a brave new world. And for all its faults I’ll tell him it’s not such a bad place at all.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Such is life. Everything is made for Mr/Mrs Average.
On the same line my wife, who is under 5ft tall (or should it be short?) complains that when she goes into a shoe shop the size 1-4 shoes (for little people) are on the top shelf and the size 8-10 (big people) are on the bottom shelf.
Makes a lot of sense I think.
My eldest passed the mark on Friday last week and on Saturday his father bought him his first pint….
Rick, I am with your wife on this one. I am 6’4″ and I have to stoop right down and grovel on the floor to find a shoe that will fit, while the shorter people having stotted (what gazelles do) for a few minutes come to me and ask me to reach for the shoes on the top shelf. I really do not understand why stores do this. When I berate the sales staff, they just look blankly at me.
TR, you make some good points. The only thing I would disagree with you is ‘He can’t vote, which if he did enlist seems unfair.’
Think about it, would you have considered enlisting after the age of 25 especially if there was a threat of going to war? While I was happy to fight at 19, I was far too sensible to do so 5 or 6 years later. My point being that anybody who is silly enough to risk his life for a bit of adventure, which if we are honest, is what it is all about at that age, is not mature enough to vote. Don’t get me wrong, I fully admire people with that sort of attitude, and I would be quite happy for any son of mine to sign up, but I would not want them to be directly involved in making long term decisions about the future of the country. Most young people can barely run their own lives do we really want them run the country? I am convinced the voting age should be raised to 25, certainly not lowered. Electing governments is about making long term strategy, not about short term rewards. Short-termism is what young people are all about.
My argument gets a little weaker when young men are enlisted against their will, but governments make lots of people do things against their will, including paying taxes. Besides, where I came from, even the old folk were called up to perform various police and military duty.
As I understand it, if you allow your son to sign up, you transfer your parental responsibilities to the Military, in loco parentis. ‘T’was ever thus. In my opinion, the balance in the UK is right. At eighteen they can vote, go to college or to war – their choice.
Gubmints do NOT make people do things against their will. There is a deal between us – we pay tax, etc.; they provide myriad services in return. Try doing without them!
Try not paying taxes!
25, Sipu? I’d like to see you get that one past parliament. Next you’ll be asking that the electorate answer three questions correctly in the polling station before they’re allowed to vote.
Also, what about a cut-off point at the other end for the right to vote? What do you suggest? 75 years? 80? 85? What about 60? That seems about right.
Hi TR. I doubt very much whether it would get past parliament. It is not in parliament’s interests. MPs get elected by making short term promises which appeal to the young. That is why the Lib Dems want to lower the age to 16, a policy that is completely self-serving. As for the other end of the scale, as long as the individual is still paying taxes, I think that they should continue to vote. My father used to say that there should be a cut off age because OAPs would also be short-termist, but I think that on the whole I think old people are far more selfless than their younger counterparts.
Nobody should be allowed to vote if they have not paid income tax for 5 of the last 7 years. (Or something like that.) But that won’t get past parliament either.