Should the voting age be 16?

[dex4974]

I think anybody that's old enough to work and get taxed should be old enough to vote. You can join the military when you're 17. That means at 17 you are old enough to pick up a rifle and kill/die for your country but you're not old enough to vote. You also can't have a beer for another 4 years after you join the military. This shit just seems crazy to me. Your thoughts?

 

[bluesmoke]

No representation without taxation. SNARK

 

[The Mark]

I think anybody that's old enough to work and get taxed should be old enough to vote. You can join the military when you're 17. That means at 17 you are old enough to pick up a rifle and kill/die for your country but you're not old enough to vote. You also can't have a beer for another 4 years after you join the military. This shit just seems crazy to me. Your thoughts?

Maybe you shouldn't be able to join the military until you're 21.

 

[Felis Leo]

I think anybody that's old enough to work and get taxed should be old enough to vote. You can join the military when you're 17. That means at 17 you are old enough to pick up a rifle and kill/die for your country but you're not old enough to vote. You also can't have a beer for another 4 years after you join the military. This shit just seems crazy to me. Your thoughts?

Only if they are legally emancipated and allowed to make adult decisions for themselves prior to the age of 18, then yes. Otherwise no.

 

[dex4974]

Maybe you shouldn't be able to join the military until you're 21.

I'd be good with that.

 

[VanceMack]

Why would people that believe that adolescents dont even have fully functioning brains til they are 26 and cant be expected to provide for their own basic care and well being believe that those same adolescents without fully functioning brains should be allowed to vote and typically, vote for the people advocating for people without fully functioning brains be allowed to.........

oh...wait...I get it....

 

[Integrityrespec]

I think anybody that's old enough to work and get taxed should be old enough to vote. You can join the military when you're 17. That means at 17 you are old enough to pick up a rifle and kill/die for your country but you're not old enough to vote. You also can't have a beer for another 4 years after you join the military. This shit just seems crazy to me. Your thoughts?

Then let them buy homes, cars, get their own credit cards. The facts, the science, says the brain is not developed until mid 20's and children make poor choices..

Taken from, "The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology" (full article linked below")

Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Scientists have identified a specific region of the brain called the amygdala that is responsible for immediate reactions including fear and aggressive behavior. This region develops early. However, the frontal cortex, the area of the brain that controls reasoning and helps us think before we act, develops later. This part of the brain is still changing and maturing well into adulthood.

Changing Brains Mean that Adolescents Act Differently From Adults

Pictures of the brain in action show that adolescents' brains work differently than adults when they make decisions or solve problems. Their actions are guided more by the emotional and reactive amygdala and less by the thoughtful, logical frontal cortex. Research has also shown that exposure to drugs and alcohol during the teen years can change or delay these developments.

Based on the stage of their brain development, adolescents are more likely to:

• act on impulse
• misread or misinterpret social cues and emotions
• get into accidents of all kinds
• get involved in fights
• engage in dangerous or risky behavior

Adolescents are less likely to:

• think before they act
• pause to consider the consequences of their actions
• change their dangerous or inappropriate behaviors

Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

www.aacap.org

 

[dex4974]

Then let them buy homes, cars, get their own credit cards. The facts, the science, says the brain is not developed until mid 20's and children make poor choices..

Why do we let 17 year olds join the military then?

 

[dex4974]

Why would people that believe that adolescents dont even have fully functioning brains til they are 26 and cant be expected to provide for their own basic care and well being believe that those same adolescents without fully functioning brains should be allowed to vote and typically, vote for the people advocating for people without fully functioning brains be allowed to.........

oh...wait...I get it....

Why would people believe these same people shouldn't vote or drink but should be able to join the military?

 

[MrPeanut]

I don't think the argument is bad, but I also remember being 16 so it's a maybe from me.

 

[GolfingChef]

We need to pick an age when someone is an adult and make everything start at that age. We are ****ing stupid in this country, some things 18, some things 19, some things 21.

 

[americanwoman]

I think anybody that's old enough to work and get taxed should be old enough to vote. You can join the military when you're 17. That means at 17 you are old enough to pick up a rifle and kill/die for your country but you're not old enough to vote. You also can't have a beer for another 4 years after you join the military. This shit just seems crazy to me. Your thoughts?

Maybe, I don't know. I agree with what you are saying but they are not really an "adult" in any other legal sense.. then again my youngest brother just had a baby at that age and he's taking on adult responsibilities so maybe he should have a voice. It's an interesting debate.

 

[dex4974]

I don't think the argument is bad, but I also remember being 16 so it's a maybe from me.

Heads I win tails you lose, I think. If teenagers aren't mature enough to vote and drink they sure as shit are not mature enough to decide to join the military and be trained to kill people.

 

[dex4974]

We need to pick an age when someone is an adult and make everything start at that age. We are ****ing stupid in this country, some things 18, some things 19, some things 21.

Some things 17...like joining the military.

 

[dex4974]

Maybe, I don't know. I agree with what you are saying but they are not really an "adult" in any other legal sense.. then again my youngest brother just had a baby at that age and he's taking on adult responsibilities so maybe he should have a voice. It's an interesting debate.

We need to decide if a 17 year old is an adult or not, because if they're not it's pretty ****ed up that they can join the military. If they are and it's fine for them to die for the country then it's ****ed up that they can't vote, drink or smoke. What we're doing doesn't make sense.

 

[Quag]

Voting age should not be lower than the drinking age, having said that I think the drinking age should be 18

 

[GolfingChef]

Some things 17...like joining the military.

Only with a parent or guardians permission

 

[dex4974]

Only with a parent or guardians permission

17 year olds should not be joining the military if they also can't vote or smoke a cigarette. I don't care about what loopholes we go through to get children in the military. If they're not adults they shouldn't be there.

 

[Moon]

How about let them drive their parents to the polling place, but they can’t vote. Seems like a good compromise.

 

[VanceMack]

Why would people believe these same people shouldn't vote or drink but should be able to join the military?

I quite agree.

Lets go back. 100 years ago, if your were 16 and werent married and building your own house carving out your existence in the wilderness there was considered to be something wrong with you. Today, people expect adults into their 30s to be incapable of existing without the benevolence of mom and her basement and a lifetime supply of internet, cheetos, and soda. More and more people are chemically dependent on some form of sedative to help them survive their pathetic existences. I would say from an evolutionary perspective we are devolving. Why then would people move to give voting rights to people they dont believe are responsible enough to care for themselves?

As for joining the military....I suppose we leave that intact because we still believe that not EVERYONE is a pathetic incompetent wanker, and since only about 1% of citizens actually join the military, there probably isnt much incentive to change the enlistment age.

 

[Ikari]

It should be like 23 or something.

 

[GolfingChef]

17 year olds should not be joining the military if they also can't vote or smoke a cigarette. I don't care about what loopholes we go through to get children in the military. If they're not adults they shouldn't be there.

I think everything should be 18, drinking and all the rest.

I was a Marine Recruiter for 4 years and we never shipped anyone 17 to boot camp. The joined while in High School and went into the delayed entry program.

 

[dex4974]

there probably isnt much incentive to change the enlistment age.

Probably because it's a lot easier to brainwash children.

 

[dex4974]

I think everything should be 18, drinking and all the rest.

I was a Marine Recruiter for 4 years and we never shipped anyone 17 to boot camp. The joined while in High School and went into the delayed entry program.

I went to basic training with a 17 year old. I was only a year older than him though.

 

[VanceMack]

Probably because it's a lot easier to brainwash children.

Again...we are talking about 1% of the population and if you think military people are brainwashed you know literally nothing about them. If you are implying that YOU joined the ilitary and were brain washed, well...maybe you were one of the ones that shouldnt have been in the military...or been allowed to vote...or drive...or leave the house without a helmet.