Life is like a pendulum; on each side of the pendulum is an extreme. The best part of the pendulum is when the needle is pointing to the middle. 

Last week a 16-year-old girl at one of the local middle schools went into a school bathroom with a 14-year-old boy and both of them allegedly consensually practiced what they knew about the birds and the bees.

They were caught and the 16-year-old girl was charged with statutory rape, as defined in Georgia law.

How utterly wrong is this?

Both children should have been punished for breaking school rules and inappropriate conduct; maybe a suspension or 50 hours of detention; for sure a major discipline by their parents. But being charged with rape? The pendulum theory has struck again.

We hope the judge that deals with this case will drop the rape charges but that the young lady and the young man will be punished appropriately.

As a community we all need to see that the pendulum of life come back to the middle instead of these extremes.