Young and the Restless [View all]

I've been absolutely dumbfounded ever since I heard about the 22 yr old put in charge of a Homeland Security dept that deals with domestic terrorism.
If you had not heard, I'm sure most of DU has, that the Mango Mussolini hired 22 yr old Thomas Fugate to run the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, a domestic terrorism prevention group. It's a huge step up from his previous job of bagging groceries.
The story made me step back and take in the whole picture. We also have the 19 yr old who calls himself "big balls" running some aspect of OPM and a boatload of other 20-somethings in significant and serious roles, that manage billions of dollars and thousands of people.

Why? I kept asking myself why would you do something so profoundly stupid?

Then it occurred to me that teenagers and 20-somethings have zero real life experience. Especially in such a large and multifaceted work environment. They do not yet have the intellectual and more importantly emotional experience to navigate such an intense environment.
They can be manipulated and bullied and they have no idea how to deal with it. As smart as they think they are and I have no doubt they think very highly of themselves, they do not have the skills of experienced CIA officer or an experienced homeland security investigator. They are helpless babes compared to any experienced federal employee.
Why this matters? Because they can be shaped and manipulated into almost anything and if things go south, and they will, they have a built in scapegoat to take the fall.