What is the role of a teenager in nation building?

Answer 1

The youth of a Nation is actually the building blocks for it. They are the new generation which is going to take over the reins of the country in a few years time.

If youth is trained and educated in the right manner, they will play a very constructive role in nation building. They will help the government and state and private institutions in implementation of national policies. Whereas if Youth is not in the right direction and is unconcerned about the future of the Nation, it will just be a burden for the nation as a whole and will play no productive role.

My knowledge is mostly limited to US history, but in the US youth made an important contribution to the economy up until the Child Labor Act of 1916 was passed. Up until that time children could perform almost any job that an adult could and did so for minimal wages. Having nearly every able-bodied person working is akin to a "total mobilization" in the military sense - it produces the absolute maximum output and allows for maximum growth of the economy.

Modern weapons have given youth a new and ominous role in nation building, that of being a soldier. In previous times youth didn't possess the physicalstrength to be effective soldiers - swords and spears are only as effective as their wielders are strong. The Kalashnikov type 47 rifle, Uzi machine-pistol, and US M-16 rifle are all sufficiently light weight as to allow a 10 year old girl to fight effectively on the modern battlefield.