Your Children Exist
by Natasha H.
Imagine, a country where children can be imprisoned without rights,
have their earnings stolen without their approval or be sent to their
deaths without a chance to vote for or against the leader who will
order them to kill or be killed. Is this some third world nation?
A terrorist nation? The name of the country is the United States
of America.
On March 2, 1955, a dark-complected, poor African-American female
refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. She was taken
away in handcuffs by two officers and placed in a cell. A lawsuit in
which she was the plaintiff later resulted in desegregation. This
female wasn't Rosa Parks. She was fifteen-years-old Claudette
Colvin. The NAACP felt that Ms. Colvin was too young, too dark
and too poor to be a role model. Nine months later, her teacher
and mentor Rosa Parks followed in Claudette's footsteps, getting on the
same bus at the same location and allowing herself to be arrested in
the same manner as Claudette had done.. Rosa Parks, who was
lighter-skinned, more middle class and older, was considered a better
status symbol for the movement. While Rosa Parks was a great
leader, why wasn't Claudette Colvin properly recognized as being the
real mother of the civil rights movement or ever receive the credit she
deserved?
Everyone knows the name of Thurgood Marshall, the attorney who argued
Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas before the Supreme
Court. His fame elevated him to the level of Supreme Court
Justice. But what about the kids? Do you know their
names? Where is their glory? Where is the glory of the
first black kids to enter a white school? History is kind to the
accomplishments of those above 18, but horrid to the accomplishments of
teenagers.
One of our society's most interesting qualities is its inability to
equally apply all the rules. For instance, youth aren't allowed
to have a say in their government. Yet at sixteen they can drive
and fly airplanes solo. They can also eliminate the possibility
of being a conscientious objector at the age of eight by joining the
Young Marines. All fifty states allow children to be tried as
adults. Over 40 states allow a child to be sentenced to life
without parole. In Michigan, the youngest child to be tried for
murder was Nathaniel Abraham, who was 11 at the time of the
crime. A New York Times article from 2001 makes note of a
14-year-old boy who was sentenced to life without parole for a
playground incident that happened when he was 12. Missouri can
try 9 year olds as adults. And Tennessee has no age limit
whatsoever for trying a child as an adult. Up until the 2005
court ruling of Roper v. Simmons, a great many children were sentenced
to death and many of those who were sentenced to death were
executed. Just from 1973 to 1998, alone, over 160 children under
18 were sentenced to death. A list of many who were executed can
be found at: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=27&did=203#execsus.
What makes a child's judgment more acceptable in joining the military,
driving, flying an airplane, committing a crime, etc., than in voting?
What about all the American children who pay taxes and have no say in
where those taxes are spent? If American children refused to pay
their taxes until they had the vote, they could be fined and imprisoned
by the government without a say in where those dollars will be
spent. What happened to "No taxation without representation?"
This year, Californians will find they have a paper trail when they
vote. But who worked to get them one? In 2003, the
California Democratic Party passed a resolution (SACL03.13, http://sccdcc.mn.sabren.com/mt-static/archives/cdp_resolutions_062803.html),
calling for a paper trail and public ownership and oversight of voting
software. This resolution was written by an 11-year-old girl and
a 13 year-old-boy. When Kevin Shelley held his HAVA (Help America
Vote Act) hearings, adults from California's Common Cause and the
ACLU, both of which then opposed a paper trail, testified that a
paper trail would be bad. But the two kids, who wrote the
resolution adopted by Shelley's party, handed copies of that resolution
to Shelley and his panel. Later, in that session, they testified
about the need for a voter-verifiable paper trail and about the
unreliability of the results of any election that took place without
one. Shelley took the children's advice and guaranteed
Californians a paper trail in the 2006 election. Kevin Shelley
later resigned, but Californians still get to have that paper trail
that Shelley guaranteed to us.
Almost 400 of the American servicemen and servicewomen who have died in
Iraq never had one chance to vote for or against the leader who sent
them to their deaths because the voting age was too high.
Children helped give the voters that paper trail. Why haven't the
voters returned the favor and agreed to allow America's children to
vote before being sent off to die for wars they had no part in creating?
Most Americans think about the servicemen and women in Iraq.
However they aren't the only casualties. What about the children
of Iraq who fell victim to the shock and awe and "liberation"? It
isn't wrong to think about our servicemen and women, but we need to
think about the whole picture. Innocent children don't deserve to
be blown to bits. Too many young people are dying on both
sides. One of this writer's goals is to create an Iraqi and
Afghani Children's War Memorial. Hopefully children from Iran
won't be added to the list.
Plenty of youth are ignored due to their age. Often they aren't
given the time of day because people think that they lack good judgment
because they are "just children." Rarely is any good judgment
recognized. Yet, when an adult does something stupid and shows
the same or worse lack of good judgment, it's completely
different. Bad judgment is the same at any age. The ability
to learn makes children the most capable segment of our society.
The adults who work most closely with children and who know the most
about the capabilities and dedication of children did give my
generation a sound endorsement. At the Screen Actors Guild Annual
Meeting on April 23rd, 2006, the membership voted by more than a 3 to 1
margin to support the lowering of the voting age. All the
national officers (including Guild President Alan Rosenberg and others)
and national board members present voted in favor of the motion.
Maybe this is the start of a movement to recognize my generation.
This writer can only hope that, in the not-too-distant future, it will
be okay to have a 15-year-old civil rights hero.
Hopefully, someday everyone will be properly recognized, from the
children of Iraq to Claudette Colvin. Hopefully someday the youth
of the world and of this country will be treated fairly and with
respect. But that's not where I'm going. It shouldn't be
hopefully. My dream is that someday is today. After all,
your children exit.
You may contact the author at Natasha@orangecounty.youthrights.org
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