Brains, Send More Brains!

   As the father of two teenage sons, I often wonder at the cognitive processes (or lack of) which take place inside the confines of what I sometimes assume are heads made of solid concrete.  Impulsive decisions, extreme risk-taking and a belief in one’s invincibility exemplify the typical teen.

  For years, various laws and policies have been put into place which embody the belief  that wisdom comes with age.  Here in Mississippi, for example, the statewide elected offices have the following minimum age qualifications:

      State Representative                   -   21 years of age
      State Senator                            -   25 years of age
      Secretary of State                     -    25 years of age
      Circuit or Chancery court judge   -   26 years of age
      Governor                                   -  30 years of age
      State Supreme Court Justice       -   30 years of age

Mississippi isn't alone in assuming better governance comes after the callowness of youth.  The U.S. Constitution also recognizes that maturity comes with years:

      U.S. Representative       -    25 years of age
      U.S. Senator                 -    30 years of age
      President/Vice President  -   35 years of age

Note that there is absolutely no requirement to act your age while in any of those offices.  

Federal laws require a minimum age of 21 to

      Legally gamble
      Purchase and/or use alcohol
      Purchase and/or use tobacco
      Purchase and/or use handgun ammunition

Other state laws impose additional restrictions on those under 21.  

  It's not just the state and federal governments who think those under 25 aren't mature enough to act responsibly.  Insurance companies, citing the same statistics, set their rates accordingly, with males getting a break around the age of 25.  Most rental car companies require prospective customers to be a minimum of 21 (depending on whether they have a credit card and other requirements), with some setting the minimum age at 25.

  All of this conventional wisdom is supported by a National Institutes of Health study which found that a section of the human brain called the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex is one of the last brain regions to mature.  This region, which is responsible for controlling impulses and weighing risks ad consequences, does not fully develop until the mid-20’s.  In the words of an article from the January 12, 2007, edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, "The teenage brain, in essence, is a turbocharged car with a set of brakes still under construction."

  Given the medical research, the conventional wisdom, the plethora of state and federal age restrictions, and the statistics cited by businesses such as insurance companies, one is then compelled to ask if it is conscionable to continue send men and women aged 18 to 21 into war.  After all, if the brains of these young men and women aren’t fully developed until their mid-20s and thus aren’t capable of properly assessing the risks of drinking, smoking, gambling or driving a car, does it not stand to reason they may not be able to properly assess the risks inherent to combat?

  Because of their proclivity for thrills and their inability to foresee the possible consequences for their actions and decisions, it’s shamefully easy to encourage young people, our sons and daughters, to fight in a war such as the one in Iraq.  A cynic might even argue a President who wanted such a war and a Congress which refuses to stop it are actually counting on those immature dorsal lateral prefrontal cortexes to keep it going.  After all, as Senator George McGovern said, it’s the "old men" who keep "dreaming up wars for young men to die in."