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Strawberry · 06-12-2009, 10:38 PM

It's good that you mentioned that, Lasti. I also recall having a thing for a few 30-year-olds when I was 14. I remember in my most rebelious phase even meeting up with a 34-year-old to get to "know" him. It was at night and we met at a well lit street corner next to a not-so-well-lit park. He brought a few friends and invited me to join him in the park. All my instincts at that point said "NO WAY!" I politely declined and returned home, checking periodically to make sure he didn't follow me. I think that was probably the most lucid and wise decision I made at that point in my life, amidst all the other stupid decisions. If only more teens made smarter choices.

Sadly for those of you who would wish otherwise, I must second the opinions of Ssandra and Angela.

1) It has been scientifically proven that teenage brains are run by the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain. They primarily make emotional decisions.

2) Thank heavens we have society to protect those who are most vulnerable.

3) The reason that societies (the good ones, anyway) protect the vulnerable is because they are run by people who have their moral compasses pointed in the right direction, not because they were conditioned to think a certain way. If that were true, then societies would never have evolved, and would not ever change. It would always be more of the same. Many values that we shared yesterday are outdated today because some person or group of people came along and said "we wont put up with the status quo!"

To take some recent examples in US history, with which I am most familiar, I point to the feminist movement, civil rights movement, and most recently the environmentalist movement. And to take one international example with which I am familiar, the HUMAN RIGHTS movement. Children all over the world should have the right to their own bodily and mental integrity until such an age as they are capable of making their own decisions! In which case they still keep their integrity because they are consciously making decisions and considering the repercussions.

06-12-2009, 10:38 PM	#43 (permalink)
Strawberry Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York Posts: 17	It's good that you mentioned that, Lasti. I also recall having a thing for a few 30-year-olds when I was 14. I remember in my most rebelious phase even meeting up with a 34-year-old to get to "know" him. It was at night and we met at a well lit street corner next to a not-so-well-lit park. He brought a few friends and invited me to join him in the park. All my instincts at that point said "NO WAY!" I politely declined and returned home, checking periodically to make sure he didn't follow me. I think that was probably the most lucid and wise decision I made at that point in my life, amidst all the other stupid decisions. If only more teens made smarter choices. Sadly for those of you who would wish otherwise, I must second the opinions of Ssandra and Angela. 1) It has been scientifically proven that teenage brains are run by the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain. They primarily make emotional decisions. 2) Thank heavens we have society to protect those who are most vulnerable. 3) The reason that societies (the good ones, anyway) protect the vulnerable is because they are run by people who have their moral compasses pointed in the right direction, not because they were conditioned to think a certain way. If that were true, then societies would never have evolved, and would not ever change. It would always be more of the same. Many values that we shared yesterday are outdated today because some person or group of people came along and said "we wont put up with the status quo!" To take some recent examples in US history, with which I am most familiar, I point to the feminist movement, civil rights movement, and most recently the environmentalist movement. And to take one international example with which I am familiar, the HUMAN RIGHTS movement. Children all over the world should have the right to their own bodily and mental integrity until such an age as they are capable of making their own decisions! In which case they still keep their integrity because they are consciously making decisions and considering the repercussions.