What is a Minor?
by Robert Russo
History judges civilizations by their ruling class, because they are the recorders of events and choose which posterity will be passed down. Archaeology judges people equally much like the ground itself, a slave quarter, brothel or forgotten evidence of genocide yielding as much information as Tutankhamen's tomb. It would be even more accurate to say attention is not paid to any group or issue until that group itself is in charge, replacing the old aristocracy. When Mark Twain traveled the world he was shocked at the slavery and brutality in other cultures, seeing them through the eyes of their lowest members. This is how to judge a society. What is behind the scenes, who are the nonentities, if citizenship must be earned then where are the non-citizens? I was irked to read yesterday's news story "Runaway Gets on Flight Without Problem". Considering how many teenagers think about running away from home and how often this escape is dramatized, I would think there is a runaway for every dysfunctional home and abusive parent out there. Look at the number of kidnappings publicized, some of them in broad daylight. How do these people travel, by underground railroad? I don't want to live in a country where one minor's success in booking a flight is a national headline. There is no group to which I intentionally belong that so glories in our control that no lower person can escape from "us".
A 15-year-old Alaska girl bought an airline ticket to be with her boyfriend in NC. She "hadn't asked her parents' permission to fly", which as a reader makes me respond "so what?", and the article has a poll on who is more to blame, her parents or the airline.* Blame implies that a crime has been committed. Her parents are stunned that she was not stopped at the ticket counter, and why would she be? 15-year-olds are physically adults. There is no age requirement to buy airline tickets and Alaska Airlines allows minors to fly by themselves, so the parents are demanding a change in policy. Although they describe their family life glowingly they are pressing charges against their own daughter and sent her to a juvenile detention center, citing it "a form of tough love".*
In a laissez-faire society there is no subordination, no delegation and no dominion of one person over another. The community is consensual as any club or neighborhood where joining is a choice. Being born is not a choice and therefore the ultimate ticket to a life of servitude; people creating each other for their own purposes. Policy or "tough love" is whatever those in power choose to call what they want to do. We don't get to choose the minds and bodies of our children however so they are oblivious to these politics. They aren't obligated at birth to follow any of the dogma of their predecessors, so it is ingrained either by the carrot or the stick.
Many people are surprised at the lifestyle within a commune or other closed community where there is no public perception (i.e. children running around naked, being nursed after infancy, fed by hand etc.) or even an individual who cares nothing of perception (a messy house), just as some are astounded by gated communities where perception is everything (yard ordnances, servants etc.). So the maintenance of every front comes with an equal hindside. The grander the showroom the bigger the warehouse, the more beautiful the garden the harder the labor, the more picturesque a society the more destitute its unseen masses. The concept of a minor is part of this maintenance, no one considers it until it goes too far like the eugenics horrors and racial segregation of a generation ago.
Anyone who says they support laissez-faire or equality must face the issues where there is still inequality, that people consider an exception. The reason a minor overstepping her rights is newsworthy is because every parent sees a potential threat to their own authority. Even minors themselves cooperate with the system at its worst because one day they will have their own ticket to absolute authority, just as grunts in the business world don't want to end the using, they want to become the users. How many so-called libertarians and social anarchists would be willing to give up their parental authority? It is the closest personal monopoly, a non-issue, a taboo. Hopefully its mention will anger some readers into revealing themselves, stating how young people foolishly leaping into the unknown could suffer the rest of their lives from a rush decision they weren't ready for, and that everyone would do so at their peril if there was no period of guidance, preparation and supervision. Then I will ask "so if there was a misprint and the girl is 18 instead of 15 her decision suddenly becomes enlightened and acceptable?". Will the boyfriend awaiting her feel more inclined to be dependable? Will her parents care less and not send her to jail, or will they be locked up themselves for detaining an adult?
All libertarians know that any dark corner of our society where the Constitution is waived will eventually be exploited into the rest of adult life. The guise of education is the biggest, "no one is too old to learn" (no one is too old to be treated like a student instead of a citizen, following instruction to earn paper merits all their life). If an airline changes its policy of letting young people go uncarded then everyone who boards will be treated like children. This story can be read at http://news.aol.com/story/_a/runaway-gets-on-flight-without-problem/20070821172309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001.
*http://news.aol.com/story/_a/runaway-gets-on-flight-without-problem/20070821172309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Question of the Week: What is an underage libertarian's best option and alternative to suicide in the most stifling and brutal households? Should there be an underground for harboring runaways until they turn 18? If you had to be a youth again would you endure the wait a second time or live like there was no tomorrow? Send your thoughts to henrico@richmondliberty.org.
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