Government: 18 or Bust

     Be forewarned:  I might sound like a moron.  I will try my best not to, but I might.

     So, to address the title:  According to the US government, if you're not 18 then you're not a person.  You do have some rights, but not a whole lot of them.  The US is really terrible to its children.  Read this (WARNING: It's a pdf).  To the best of my knowledge, America is one of only two countries who has refused to agree to this section of the Geneva convention.  Now, I actually disagree with it on one point, but it's rather minor and the fact that the US didn't sign it is really bothersome to me.  I'll address my issue with the UN document before proceeding on to America's problems, since I'm on the subject and the US has laws regarding the principle.  In Principle 9, it is stated that "The child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age..."  I disagree with this.  One of my biggest problems with modern governments and people is their obsession with standardization.  Everyone has to be exactly the same.  Sure, people ought to start on an equal footing, but after that, anything's fair game.  With respect to this policy, it means that I think a minimum age shouldn't be established.  It ought to be the decision of the child and the parents when the child is ready to work.  I don't think there's a problem with five year olds working, although it would have to be really easy work, and not last for long.  Children ought to be able to work whenever they want, so long as it doesn't interfere with normal growth, education, etc., etc.  The problem that arises from allowing children to work is that poorer families will send their children to work for the money and the children would not receive proper education and other things mentioned in the document.  That's something I'm not sure how to fix.  There are some solutions, such as requiring an investigation into the finances of every family in the United States, or requiring employers to check on the status of their employees, but both of those solutions violate other tenets that I hold.  I'll think about it more; I might post something in the comments, but I'm not promising anything.
     Well, back on track:  The United States and its policy towards children.  Man, I just realized I know nothing about this topic.  I'm gonna go research it for half an hour or something.

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I'll come back to this tomorrow, I promise.  Maybe I'll do some installments on childrens' rights violations instead of a one big post on how America hates kids.