America is divided. The word ‘divided’ is repeatedly broadcasted by every big news outlet every day, but what if our youth could bring us together?
America’s voting age has been limited to the age of 18 since 1971 when the Twenty-Sixth Amendment was passed. During that time, the main argument was that 18-year-olds could go to war, so why could they not vote? It does not make sense that when kids get out of high school they are allowed to go on deployment with deadly weapons when just a week ago, they were trying to leave the school campus during lunch to get fast food.
Maturity is the main argument. Should 18-year-olds decide which policies determine our taxes, laws, and military action? No. They do not quite understand how important deciding a candidate is. No one should be able to vote without at least taking government and economics classes in school first.
If the government wants high schoolers with no free time and college to plan for to now also have to juggle voting, they should have to
know how the system works and do research on the candidates and what they plan to improve. Currently, American politics are a popularity contest and everything is about how you look on TV and if you speak confidently. Politics have become less about what the real plans are for the desperate change we need in America.
Young people, especially in Generation Z, do a great job of speaking their mind and being active in their opinions. Which is special, but they also lack realistic thinking. This voting age emphasizes and diversifies viewpoints on how America runs, but if it is raised to 21, it is not out of the question to say that more people will be willing to vote.
Twenty-one-year-olds have a higher chance of doing their research and taking a country-wide election more seriously. Even when Kanye West was running for office, it became a viral sensation on TikTok. People made hundreds of jokes about a very serious election instead of looking at the good or harm he could have done for the country.
Eighteen-year-olds are very easily swayed in their opinion. They are still heavily influenced by how their parents may vote because they never had to worry about voting until now. The idea has not really sunk in for them that they have the power of being a part of a vital component in America’s way of life.
However, at the age of 21, many Americans go to college and experience new and stronger views of politics through meeting new people and being more independent in how they think and live. Now, that is not to say that 21 years old is the perfect age, because they are still living off mom and dad’s money, but they at least have less chaotic lives than 18-year-olds.
With that stability, they can focus more on the election and their views on American changes, for example, make living in a high economic world easier for younger generations. They also are way closer to fully developing their brain, while 18-year-olds still have seven years to go.
For America’s sake, it is unrealistic to count on our 18-year-olds to take this honor seriously and without biases from hometown influences. They need to experience what independence really feels like before they have the right to decide the rest of the country’s. Eighteen is just too young.
