Thing is we allow adults to approve of everything else, what's this one more thing?

And, as I see it as a youth libber, therein lies the problem. As noted, I have no problem with adults being part of the evaluative board, as long as emancipated youths are present as well. The idea is for adults and youths to work together to improve each others' performance.

It would allow parents like me to let my daughter or son be free and unrestricted at any age she wanted while I could still make sure she is safe. Remember this is something I am arguing to add right now and feel it could be feasible, if still nearly impossible.

I believe, Jack, that you are quite objective as a parent, and I commend you for this. I also sincerely believe that there will be more and more parents like you in the future. However, I do not believe the majority of parents in the present time period, who were conditioned in a very specific way by the media and educational systems they grew up in, are presently at the enlightened and open-minded level of thought that you have achieved. Thus, in many ways, you're simply ahead of your time, a parent of the future living in the present.

Because of this, I think the evidence suggests that the majority of parents today (certainly not including you) are either unwilling or emotionally incapable of such objectivity. As noted, many of them are influenced by their personal moralistic belief systems--including but not limited to the prevalence of conservative religions with a strong anti-sex component, particularly in America--or simply firmly believe that control is more important than objective safety. I think if, hypothetically speaking, your daughter took such a test and emancipated herself, there would be many ways to look out for her and keep her safe that did not entail making decisions for her. In fact, I think it would be a community effort.

I honestly feel it is also, at this point and time, easier to pitch than the test you propose. People aren't ready to accept that their child could just emancipate, while guardian approval still leaves them power. Little do they know it will circumvent the sexual taboo and it would be legal to research children involved sexually consensually.

What you say may well be true, Jack. Your statement has merit. However, I do not think that at this point in time the majority of parents would act any differently than they do now. This is why I think Epstein's proposal is a better compromise with society, and promises more objectivity without sending the message that children are the de facto property of their parents, which is inimical to the youth liberationist platform. Also, the Epstein-Dumas test does a good job, IMO, of directly addressing the concerns that society has about kids who may not have the merits to achieve emancipation at this time.

Also like you aren't a fan of guardian approval I am not a fan of government made tests allowing or disallowing freedoms. However, both to me are better than what we have now.

Understood, and I think this hits upon another aspect of the overall conflict: The constant battle between parents and government agencies regarding which of the two "should" have more control. This is why I would suggest that the test not be created by a government agency, but by educators that consist of both trained adults and emancipated youths. I think that is where the rub ultimately lies: finding a decision-making party that is likely to have the most degree of objectivity. Both a deep emotional connection and and a biased political agenda could, of course, interfere with such objectivity. This is why I support the idea that it's more likely to find this objectivity in a group of trained individuals who do not have a very personal vested interest in keeping any one particular youth from acquiring emancipation of their individual merits truly warrant it.

Believe me, Jack, I would support guardian approval if most parents or guardians had reached the degree of critical thought that you have, but this is not the case at the present time, alas. Nevertheless, as I noted above, I believe that in the future more and more parents will achieve the level of thought that you have and support youth liberation in large numbers, and if that happens before any equivalent of the Epstein-Dumas Test is established, then I would certainly shift my support to guardian approval. Your very achievement in this day and age provides a lot of indication and hope that this is indeed possible, especially if we happen to reach another period of widespread liberal policies like the 1970s.