There has been a lot of talk lately about different proposals made to lower the voting age to 16 years old. The people opposed to it say that a 16-year-old does not have the maturity to make decisions of that magnitude.
I remember back when I was in high school when people were pushing to lower the voting age to 18. A lot of the same arguments were made. No 18-year-old kid has the maturity to make a decision like that. That responsibility had to be reserved for people who were 21 or older Really? Because when I was 18 I was in the military, learning to fight in a war. When I was 19, I was leading an infantry squad. But when I came home, I couldn’t vote for the people who sent me there. I couldn’t legally buy a beer. When I wanted to get married, I needed my parents’ and my company commander’s permission, but my fiancée, who was the same age, didn’t. I guess that’s because girls mature faster than guys. I was a “child” in the eyes of the law. Go figure.
So how old does one have to be to be considered mature? Right now, Miami, Florida, is under a state of near-siege by college-age students on spring break who are defying rules about social distancing put in place to keep them and the rest of the community safe. One of them was quoted as saying, “If they try to stop us from having fun, we’ll burn the place down!” There have been over 1,000 arrests, and police are being forced to fire pepper balls to disperse the wild crowds of revelers.
In New Smyrna Beach, just up the road from us, a bunch of jerks on spring break trashed a local business because they would not sell them alcohol if they were underage, and required those who did come in to wear a mask. These are college students, and most of them are over 18. Aren’t college kids supposed to be the best of the best? Our next generation of leaders? They’re not those losers who couldn’t make it into college and had to go to trade school, or worse, get a job, right?
Then again, this sign was at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, located just a mile or two from my son’s house. Yeah, college students. Travis and his wife have told me about the big parties they have on campus, completely ignoring the rules about social distancing. Nice, responsible, college students.
So t what age can you be trusted to make wise decisions? The traitors who stormed the US Capitol and tried to disrupt the legal process of government were in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and even older. But we can trust them to vote, right? Well, unless the election doesn’t go their way. Then they want to tear the country down and start over.
So let me get this straight; at 16, a kid can get a driver’s license and handle a 3,000 pound car, but that same kid is not mature enough to fill out a ballot that weighs a few ounces. Interesting.
Someone said a 16-year-old kid is too easily influenced and would believe anything someone told them come election time. Gee, only a 16-year-old, huh? I guess if you’re over 18, you’re too smart to believe a bunch of BS someone tells you, because you have all of that maturity going for you. Really?
It’s Thursday, so it’s time for a new Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of undone, the first book in my buddy Jason Deas’ Burt Bigsley mystery series. To enter, all you have to do is click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of sending printed books and Amazon restrictions on sending e-book codes to foreign countries, only entries with U.S. addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.
Thought For The Day – Sometimes the troubles we get are completely different than the ones we prepared for.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Sad that most politicians are too immature to lead.
Well said, Nick. We live in Miami and it’s a circus here. Drunk a-holes piling up in crowds acting like idiots. My daughter took her two kids to the beach, forgetting it was spring break and girls were drunk and topless and all kinds of filthy language. And this was in the parking lot at 10 in the morning! Brother in law is a police officer and has been spit on and called a Nazi and had drinks thrown on him when he tries to get them to spread out and obey social distancing rules.
The spring breakers are rich kids living on daddy’s money who never had to obey the rules and still don’t. I worked my way through college and didn’t have time or money for that foolishness.
I don’t suppose it’s doable, but seems to me that a person should have had to work for their living before they are allowed to vote.