Age Is Just a Number

If there were competency tests for each individual issue -- drinking, driving, voting -- "industries would arise," he says, "that would teach young people how to be an adult."

It's true, he says, that American society coddles young people, caters to them, builds commercial empires around their comfort and consumption. It's also true, he says, that "adults do everything in their power to shield and protect youth from the outside world."

But such an argument reminds him of arguments he has heard before. "A lot of societies will tell you they care very much about women -- respect them, hold them in high esteem. But they don't listen to them," he says. "They don't ask women what they want."

Youth rights initiatives can't get traction, he says, because baby boomers grew up and stopped caring about youth. "The rights they fought for are no longer important to them," he says.

And so Koroknay-Palicz labors on -- against inertia and inattention. He says he is locked in a long-running David vs. Goliath fight and he lets it sink in that David was, after all, just a kid.

In July, the group staged its annual meeting. The board president, a high school student from North Carolina, was planning to fly to Washington and preside. At the last minute, he had to cancel: His mother wouldn't let him come.

Occasionally, Koroknay-Palicz goes home to Michigan for rest and relaxation. This year he will see his parents for Christmas. They say they understand their son's commitment and respect him.

"We want him to be successful," his father says. "We want him to get a good job that pays well, with benefits. Right now he is doing his pro-bono work."

"Young people," says his mother, "aren't given their due when it comes to their worth in the world. He's doing a great job of bringing that to life."