WWWTT Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I believe strongly that there should be alignment of age restrictions. If it's 18 to vote, then it should be 18 for the right to die for your country (military service), 18 to drink (tell me you should be able to die for your country but not have a beer), and 18 as the age of consent. If the consensus is 16 across the board, then so be it. Your forgot drivers liscence If you are allowed to drive a car would you not also possess the same decision capability to vote? And whats the worst that could happen? More people will vote? I guess more people voting in a democracy is a bad thing?!?!? WWWTT Quote Maple Leaf Web is now worth $720.00! Down over $1,500 in less than one year! Total fail of the moderation on this site! That reminds me, never ask Greg to be a business partner! NEVER!
wyly Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 True, but at least they have some life experience, even if they don't always remember it clearly! Scientific studies have shown that the adolescent brain is not fully developed. It has more difficulty with cause and effect and envisioning future consequences of actions. This is why many young people can appear more rash than their innate intelligence would suggest. but then Alzheimer patients can vote and a number of other brain issues...the part of the adolescents brain that isn't fully developed is the impulse center which wouldn't affect a rational vote...then I've met seemingly rational adults that came up with some real winning logic for voting the way they do..."he has a nice smile" or "i don't like the way he looks", "he has shifty eyes", "he looks like a hippie(jack layton) "...a 16 yr old has enough logic to make a rational vote... how we vote has more effect on a 16 or 17 yr olds life then an 80yr old, the kid has an entire lifetime ahead of them that we can screw up for them, where as the 80yr old's life is behind them...let them have a say in their future... Quote “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”- John Stuart Mill
jacee Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I think it's a good idea. Gets them in the habit of voting before they leave home. Quote
Moonlight Graham Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 Idiots graduate high school all of the time. I know some idiots with PhDs haha Quote "All generalizations are false, including this one." - Mark Twain Partisanship is a disease of the intellect.
Smallc Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I know some idiots with PhDs haha Totally. As Bonam said in another thread, education has little to do with intelligence. Quote
olp1fan Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 well I'd agree but that would unfairly exclude people from a time where finishing high school was really required... exempt them and start from now Quote
wyly Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I know some idiots with PhDs haha probably and I've known some brilliant and mature 16 and 17 yr olds... Quote “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”- John Stuart Mill
Battletoads Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 probably and I've known some brilliant and mature 16 and 17 yr olds... It's really more of a mental age issue. Of course if you decided who could vote based on mental age you eliminate a large portion of the voters, mostly baby boomers. Quote "You can lead a Conservative to knowledge, but you can't make him think."
Wild Bill Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 how we vote has more effect on a 16 or 17 yr olds life then an 80yr old, the kid has an entire lifetime ahead of them that we can screw up for them, where as the 80yr old's life is behind them...let them have a say in their future... They will have a say when they are legally adults! The ancient Greeks pegged the age of adulthood at 30! As for an 80 year old's life being behind them, you should also keep in mind that they have memories and have seen the consequences of many political approaches. A kind saying would be "He who doesn't know history is doomed to repeat it!" I would be a bit edgier. "A politician's worst nightmare is a voter with a long memory!" Quote "A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." -- George Bernard Shaw "There is no point in being difficult when, with a little extra effort, you can be completely impossible."
eyeball Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 then force everyone? I guess so. Quote A government without public oversight is like a nuclear plant without lead shielding.
wyly Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 They will have a say when they are legally adults! The ancient Greeks pegged the age of adulthood at 30! As for an 80 year old's life being behind them, you should also keep in mind that they have memories and have seen the consequences of many political approaches. we let them do all sorts of adult activities and responsibilities voting isn't a big addition...A kind saying would be "He who doesn't know history is doomed to repeat it!"that would 90% of canadians... Quote “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”- John Stuart Mill
wyly Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I guess so. hmmm...I think everyone should vote even if it's only to spoil their ballot, not sure about mandatory voting... Quote “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”- John Stuart Mill
Newfoundlander Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 They definitely should be able to vote. Quote
fellowtraveller Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 If it's 18 to vote, then it should be 18 for the right to die for your country (military service), 18 to drink (tell me you should be able to die for your country but not have a beer), and 18 as the age of consent. Except for the age of consent, that is already how it is today in your province of AB. Age of cosnet was raised from 14 to 16 by the fascist child and kitten hating Harperites.Another biggie is the age of contract which is 18 in Canada. Quote The government should do something.
cybercoma Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 The NDP has brought forward a private members bill, to allow 16 years old allow to vote in elections, do you agree? My view is 16 years olds brains are still developing and some of the decisions they make aren't the right ones. Of course, one can always say the same to some of the results of elections of the past! I'm not sure if they even know who their MP or MPP's are or what is a MP or MPP. I like to see a surprise test in schools just to see how much they do know about governments at the three levels. A 16 year old can legally drop out of high school, work at a job and pay taxes, and have a driver's license. They're part of the political system at that age. While I don't think many of them would be ready to vote, there's a lot of adults that I wish wouldn't vote either, so why not? Quote
cybercoma Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I think the voting age should be raised to 30. Then no one under 30 should pay taxes. Quote
cybercoma Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 to vote you should at the very least be a high school graduate Are you going to disenfranchise all of the adults thath didn't finish high school? Or menonite communities, for instance? Quote
TimG Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 (edited) This, of course, has nothing to with the fact that the 16-18 age group is extremely naive and has no idea where government money comes from (hence they are the ideal NDP demographic). Bottom line: the voting age is an arbitrary line. It should be set at the age where someone is legally able to enter into contracts. Edited December 1, 2011 by TimG Quote
olp1fan Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 Are you going to disenfranchise all of the adults thath didn't finish high school? Or menonite communities, for instance? the adults would get exempted Quote
cybercoma Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I love how the people that are against it wrongly assume they would vote for the NDP. Quote
Battletoads Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 This, of course, has nothing to with the fact that the 16-18 age group is extremely naive and has no idea where government money comes from (hence they are the ideal NDP demographic). Really? I think if they wanted wasteful government spending they'd be the ideal Con demographic, based off the conservative record. Quote "You can lead a Conservative to knowledge, but you can't make him think."
Wild Bill Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 Then no one under 30 should pay taxes. Quite right! I hadn't thought of that, CC! Quote "A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." -- George Bernard Shaw "There is no point in being difficult when, with a little extra effort, you can be completely impossible."
tducey82 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I disagree with this, we have enough trouble getting people 18 and over to vote, let's work on getting those people to vote before he lower the voting age. Quote
Tilter Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 (edited) And capped at 50. As people get older and lose their marbles they vote conservative. We must be equitable in our ridiculous banter. Teen agers actually predict the outcome of elections. They mostly follow their parents view of what they've been indoctrinated to believe. And capped at 50. As people get older and lose their marbles they vote conservative. And the country's voting record would drop to 25% as the seniors make up a great part of voters actually exercising their franchise while the middle aged group chose to sit on their hands and bitch about all the, in their mind, "mistakes" the government (who they were too apathetic to support or oppose at election time) make. Every society (except apparently the right wingers) recognise the wisdom & experience of the "elders" in their political judgement. The right wingers apparently think that only someone in high school or college can make an intelligent decision and so they go out on election day & either watch a football game in a sports bar or go to the Quebec election poll & elect a bunch of children whose minds are still unformed & crazed with hormone jags, the type of people who go to Vegas while an election is being held. Edited December 1, 2011 by Tilter Quote
noahbody Posted December 1, 2011 Report Posted December 1, 2011 I'm interested in seeing how the other NDP members will vote on this. It appears to be a very self-serving bill, put forth by an NDP MP who won the last election with 50.1% of the vote. Maybe he's thinking it's his ticket to a nice pension, who knows? In any event, it will be difficult for NDP MPs to support this bill and then turn around and say at 16 you're not old enough to know that murder is wrong. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.