Voting is an American right, a right that many people consider us fortunate to have because many other countries are not democratic. However, I have been questioning the "wonderfulness" of voting and have found some flaws.
First of all, I don't know if 18-year-olds should have the right to vote. For one, they can't even drink. Personally, I think it's absolutely preposterous that someone can have a say in who becomes president of the United States but can't even have a glass of wine. Also, many of them are still in school. Most educated and well-informed voters have experience. And, honestly, how much worldly experience can an 18-year-old possibly have? Also, many political issues are extremely controversial and require a tremendous amount of understanding. Your brain doesn't fully develop until you're in your twenties, so in many cases, some of these political issues would be a bit too difficult for an 18-year-old to fully comprehend. I am 16 years old (which is pretty close to 18), and there are plenty of economic issues that I don't understand that well. Additionally, because of school, most 18-year-olds don't have full time jobs, and some of them don't even have any jobs. I think that voting is a responsibility (it takes a lot of work to become well-informed and truly comprehend controversial political topics). And how responsible can you be if you don't have a (full time) job? After all, jobs require a lot of responsible work.
Second of all, I'm not sure if everyone's vote should be counted equally. I think that people who serve their country (in this case, the United States) in the military should have the biggest say. I mean, they risk their lives in order to help defend their country. As they work really hard to serve their country and face plenty of life-threatening obstacles while doing so (and many, unfortunately, don't even make it home), I think that people in the military should be given an enormous voice voting-wise. It's sort of like a gift; they do something nice for America, and America gives them the biggest say in who becomes president. This is the only circumstance under which I would be okay with an 18-year-old voting, because there are plenty of 18-year-olds in the military.
I'm interested in hearing what you think...
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I think a lot of this comes down to who draws the line. If someone is legally an adult at 18 years old, they may not be the most developed brain-wise, but they’re old enough to move out of their house, live on their own, and work for a living. I think if you’re treated like an adult by the government, you deserve say over how your government works.
ReplyDeleteI think your tie between brain development and understanding of world conflicts is very iffy. A complex conflict is probably out of the grasp of many everyday people, not automatically an 18 year old because of brain size (although there is certainly a decrease in likeliness they will understand).
Your point about job responsibility and voting responsibility is interesting. I agree, you need to have responsibility to do either. However, I also think responsibility is a learning process and is legitimate in all of its phases-- or at least, for everything that requires responsibility, that responsibility needs to be enhanced through practice. A person might not be the most knowledgeable about every world conflict, but they can still make other political judgments about their future leaders, especially relating to how they want to be treated as future workers. They’ll learn with time, but that doesn’t make their opinions irrelevant, in my opinion. And they might know a lot. They have responsibilities just being adult, and that matters.
As for the notion that military servicepeople should be given more voice, I disagree completely. Servicepeople have incredible responsibility, certainly, and knowledge about living, perhaps, and discipline to do hard work and serve their country. That’s admirable, but that doesn’t automatically make their opinion matter more than the rest of the country, nor does it make them more right. They need more voice, I agree, especially in relation to their needs because they sacrifice so much, but even so they just can’t speak for a larger amount than what they are. Military does not imply automatic knowledge and wisdom. 18 year olds may each differ in what they do, some challenges may be more direct and physical than others, but they all have their own value that may be very important in its own way. What about the new college students or people studying abroad? Is a new college student less knowledgeable than someone who just joined the military?
If not 18, when else? 21? 21 is the drinking age, it’s relatively arbitrary compared to becoming a legal adult.