I Have To Ask...Yes Ma'am

At the library where I work, I am available at the information desk for most of my shift. Inevitably, people come up asking to use our computer lab. Great, no problem, certainly, BUT I have to ask if you are over 18 years of age. This is simple for the most part and very logical because our internet is not filtered and minors need the permission of their parents before going any further.

As a side note, we do not allow people to look at pornography or anything along those lines since it is a public place, and yes, I have had to ask a gentleman to leave for that reason. When he was asked to leave because of the content he was looking at (pornography involving young girls) he acted like he couldn't understand what the problem was. Did I mention that he is/was a substitute teacher at the local high school? Did I also mention that his privacy is protected by law? I believe it is protected under the 4th Amendment which covers the privacy of personal property and your use of the library is an extension of that.


Now, getting back to the point I was originally going to make. For people under the age of 18, they must have a parent signature before gaining access to our unfiltered internet. So, anytime their age is questionable, we have to ask for ID showing that they are over 18 yrs old.

Well, it is not normally an issue for me to ask people this question but I knew as soon as he spoke that he would be over 18 although he did not look over 18 and the reason for this was the language he used. He was one of those young men who are overly polite with the "Yes, ma'am" this and "Yes, ma'am" that...yep, military kid. The reason I am so uncomfortable with this particular scenario is that I have to ask this person, who has pledged to defend his country and her people, even to the death, if they are old enough to use an unfiltered internet. Do you see the 'wrongness' in this?

Perhaps I am overly sensitive to it right now because my oldest is about to turn 16 years old and I can not imagine putting him in a position where he would be expected to defend life and liberty. The world and its' wars are such a sad thing. When I think of George Bernard Shaw's famous quote, "Youth is wasted on the young." I have to disagree and think what a terrible thing it is that the youth of our young is wasted on the wars of their seniors.

I will also mention that I fully support our troops and pray for their safety but I have to agree with Ernest Hemingway when he said, "They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason."