Raise the voting age

There’s a move underfoot to repeal the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution.  For those not constitutional scholars, that’s the amendment that lowered the federal voting age to 18.  Passed in 1971 in response to the Vietnam War, it has been the standard for 40 years.  It only applies to federal elections, but all states have adopted it for local and state elections.

That move has changed the face of our elected officials and has lead to the passage of a number of bills which has led to a softening of our laws.  Many of them not in the best interests of privacy, free speech and curtailment of individual liberties.

Aging Baby Boomers, who were the recipient of the law, are now Senior Citizens.  They have seen the troubles letting teenagers vote.  Remember, humans don’t have all of their brain cells fully working until around 23 years of age. That the part of the brain that truly understands the ramifications of actions.  (We didn’t know that at the time.)   But, to me, its not the lack of brain cells in teenagers, its the fact that they already know everything.   That leads to votes appealing to nirvana without understand the negative fallout of actions necessary to achieve that state.

It’s time us seniors utilize our voting power for something important – the future.  Lets stop this insanity of teenage voting and put the country back on a track that utilizes the full brain power of its voters.