-_-_-_-_- 05.27.02

A few days I came across a site telling me that kids (around the age of 14) should be able to vote. Being a teenager myself, I found this very intriguing. What if I was able to vote. Would I be considered an important part of society then?

If I was able to vote, wouldn't that mean that my opinions actually mean something? I think so.

See, right now though, if I try to speak about my political opinions I'd be laughed at. In the current condition of affairs were in right now, I really have no say in what happens. Our own personal freedoms have been infringed on. But, people seem to think it's okay. It's for national security.

"They try to tell us as a free we... "NATIONAL SECURITY" concerns a whole country but...we have no say " (What You Don't Know, Anti-Flag)

One in five children in North America live in poverty. And, even though these countries have an enormous amount of wealth, these children have seen their needs placed back again and again.

"Until children have representation in the democratic political system, their needs will be neglected. Progress toward gaining children the right to representation will take time. " (Duncan Lindsey)

But, if we look at this from a non-objective view for moment. I'm sure one would think, "Children shouldn't be able to vote because they aren't as in-tune with national politics, as lets say an adult would be." Which is true. The average high schooler doesn't stay interested in politics as an adult, but this view could be used in any circumstance.

Who's to say that an adult should be able to vote just because they're over 18? They might be the most ignorant person in North America, but, becuase they are over 18 they are allowed to make their vote. And, that one vote could change the course of history.

There have been many instances where a president was elected, or an inmate was sentenced to death row, with a one vote margin.

So, the question now is not whether or not a person is old enough to vote, but whether or not that person is well informed. No matter what the age.

"We need to consider giving children the right to vote at age 16 (or even 14 after they have developed the required formal thought processes) or the right to assign their proxy. Obviously before they develop the cognitive skills and emotional maturity necessary for making difficult political judgments, children cannot be expected to vote. Perhaps these children should have their right to vote exercised by proxy. We could assign their proxy to their principal care giver. If children were given the franchise, then their interests and needs would receive attention equal to other groups in democratic society. To restore our obligation to children will require imaginative solutions that today seem unthinkable. It wasn't that many years ago when blacks were denied to right to vote. Women received the franchise with the 19th Amendment in 1920. Perhaps we can experiment with giving children the right to vote. Until children have the right to vote, we may simply continue a cycle of concern and neglect of children's issues that has failed to produce substantial progress." (Duncan Lindsay)

Bibliography

http://www.childwelfare.com/kids/kidsvote.htm

http://www.anti-flag.com