Should the voting age be reduced to 16 in the US?

[Andrew NDB]

Even the most pompous and politically-minded people in high school were clearly just parroting whatever their parents were telling them, or what they were overhearing from their parents.

[snake]

Now it's parroting either Reddit or one of the hundreds of conservative based Instagram activism accounts depending on which side of the scale you fall on.

I parrot what I hear on Joe Rogan, so I'm in a league of my own.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by snake

I parrot what I hear on Joe Rogan, so I'm in a league of my own.

I listen to a lot of Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew, myself. I don't always agree with them... but I agree with 95% of what they say.

[snake]

The funny thing is, is that this is such a sneaky left-wing move. If anyone knows how to sell idealism to impressionable youths, it would be them. Especially when kids are retarded as f*ck and latch on to half-baked ideologies pretty quickly.

The right can't reach kiddies directly for the life of them. Literally all of the gen-z right wing death squads are coming from the f*cking internet. The left's image of California hipster soy-children fighting for more multiculturalism in the knitting community at least appeals to some dumbasses out there. On the opposite side you have the marketing directly from the Republican Party- which is unappealing as f*ck. No kid wants to "troll the libs" by typing like a goddamned grandpa and using Trump-isms. All of the stuff that's turning the youth into having a more right wing mindset comes from places like 4chan, or guys like Jordan Peterson/Ben Shapiro/YouTube Intellectuals. I guess Alt-Right is a pretty good term for it, even if it doesn't exist in the way the media (and the rest of the f*cking Internet) portrays it to.


I hate using words like Republican, Democrat, Conservative, or Liberal. It makes you sound like an uninformed, antiquated facebook-er who sucks Trump's dick at every opportunity, yet would disregard and insult a politician belonging to the opposing party proposing essentially the same ideas. It makes you look retarded, and more like a sports fan rooting for your favorite team than anything. STUPID DEMOCRATS, TYPICAL. SAD! LOOK, HERE'S A BLACK GUY WEARING A MAGA HAT- DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH! Shut the f*ck up already, dude. God, the only thing that would fix this country would be a nuke at this point.

The two party system is stupid, and the average person is even stupider- regardless of where you fall on the scale.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by snake

The funny thing is, is that this is such a sneaky left-wing move. If anyone knows how to sell idealism to impressionable youths, it would be them. Especially when kids are retarded as f*ck and latch on to half-baked ideologies pretty quickly.

The right can't reach kiddies directly for the life of them. Literally all of the gen-z right wing death squads are coming from the f*cking internet. The left's image of California hipster soy-children fighting for more multiculturalism in the knitting community at least appeals to some dumbasses out there. On the opposite side you have the marketing directly from the Republican Party- which is unappealing as f*ck. No kid wants to "troll the libs" by typing like a goddamned grandpa and using Trump-isms.

This is true. As kids we are naturally very progressive, big-eyed and wanting to change everything. It isn't until later we understand how things really work, after hard work and struggles, and realize how dumb we were in retrospect. That comes with time and experience and watching people around you.

Though there is the people that never work hard, who just envy those who have more, without much thought into "how can I get more?" And just stew on the envy side of it. I think the two biggest problems now are envy (which is a malignant thing... for fun, Google the studies on monkeys being given grapes vs. cucumbers and what happens) and a lack of shaming/self-policing.

All of the stuff that's turning the youth into having a more right wing mindset comes from places like 4chan, or guys like Jordan Peterson/Ben Shapiro/YouTube Intellectuals. I guess Alt-Right is a pretty good term for it, even if it doesn't exist in the way the media (and the rest of the f*cking Internet) portrays it to.

I don't listen to them/watch them a lot, but I agree with almost everything those two say that I've seen or heard... except on abortion. We need to pump those numbers up!

I hate using words like Republican, Democrat, Conservative, or Liberal. It makes you sound like an uninformed, antiquated facebook-er who sucks Trump's dick at every opportunity, yet would disregard and insult a politician belonging to the opposing party proposing essentially the same ideas. It makes you look retarded, and more like a sports fan rooting for your favorite team than anything. STUPID DEMOCRATS, TYPICAL. SAD! LOOK, HERE'S A BLACK GUY WEARING A MAGA HAT- DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH! Shut the f*ck up already, dude. God, the only thing that would fix this country would be a nuke at this point.

The two party system is stupid, and the average person is even stupider- regardless of where you fall on the scale.

All of this is true. Politics has become the NFL, if there was only two teams. "Oh, you're a Broncos fan? F*** YOU!" etc.. Leo656 will probably say it has become more like the WWE, and that isn't entirely wrong either.

[snake]

WWE is a good comparison, because in both cases the current product is a sh*tshow.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Leo656 will probably say it has become more like the WWE, and that isn't entirely wrong either.

Eric Bischoff did an amazing speech about this not that long ago. I posted a link to it somewhere a while back. If you search "Eric Bischoff Politics" it should pop up.

[wpugh2424]

this shouldn't even be a debate

Oregon, I respect the state, but this is just wrong. voting shouldn't be allowed til after more formative years. I would say push it to 21-22.

[Refractive Reflections]

Democrats are going so far left, they think anything right of them is facism considering Democrats want: to tear down the border wall, make illegal aliens having voting rights, lower the age to 16, give people who don't want to work a universal basic income, stop individuals from eating meat (New York City schools having "Meatless Mondays"), think capitalism is so bad that socialism is worth pursuing.

If anything the voting age should be raised to at least 25 years old, since that's when most scientists state that's when the young brain stops developing.

It's amazing that society doesn't think 16 year olds have the maturity to have a full driver's license, accept full adult financial, legal, and career responsibility, yet somehow have the intellect and maturity to vote for the political direction of our country, and (even younger) decide to pursue hormonal and surgical transgender methods with lifelong biological and physiological repercussions based simply on how the young individual "feels". Stunning how selective society has become to an individual's maturity.

...Maybe it's reflective of current society in how it wants all the advantages of being an adult, but wants to avoid the hard weighing responsibility that comes with it.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Yeah, at 16... are you kidding me? At 16 I was a moron. I certainly didn't have the first notion of politics and certainly had no business in the voting booth. Even at 18. Maybe 20 is when it really began to make sense.

yeah at 16 I didn't know jack either.

Originally Posted by snake

I can speak for my age group- as a 17 year old- that we absolutely should not be voting.

When I was 18-20 a lot of people I knew didn't know any better either or bothered to vote. A lot of people never figure things out. I doubt most voters know how to inform themselves properly tbh.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Even the most pompous and politically-minded people in high school were clearly just parroting whatever their parents were telling them, or what they were overhearing from their parents.

Yeah, obviously. Most kids I knew back in my HS days shared the same views their parents did.

[Sumac]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

Democrats are going so far left, they think anything right of them is facism considering Democrats want: to tear down the border wall, make illegal aliens having voting rights, lower the age to 16, give people who don't want to work a universal basic income, stop individuals from eating meat (New York City schools having "Meatless Mondays"), think capitalism is so bad that socialism is worth pursuing.

If anything the voting age should be raised to at least 25 years old, since that's when most scientists state that's when the young brain stops developing.

It's amazing that society doesn't think 16 year olds have the maturity to have a full driver's license, accept full adult financial, legal, and career responsibility, yet somehow have the intellect and maturity to vote for the political direction of our country, and (even younger) decide to pursue hormonal and surgical transgender methods with lifelong biological and physiological repercussions based simply on how the young individual "feels". Stunning how selective society has become to an individual's maturity.

...Maybe it's reflective of current society in how it wants all the advantages of being an adult, but wants to avoid the hard weighing responsibility that comes with it.

1000% this.
Infantilism of the Western society is a thing, sadly. Which explains a lot about current political climate.

Originally Posted by Leo656

Incidentally, those on the Left who want to lower the voting age want it for the exact same reason as having young enlistment age requirements: They too depend on people who are young, uneducated, and lacking in common sense and foresight. ALL young people vote Democrat, because at that age "Give everybody free sh*t and just figure out how to pay for it later" sounds like a great idea, as do ALL decisions based on compassion moreso than, y'know, common sense. Then you hit 30 and realize that your paycheck drops by a third every time someone builds a new school in the area, and you get really fed up with all that.

This is a good thought too.

I remember I was very much "left" back when I was 15-17. As I started to get accustomed to the adult world, without anyone's help it has become obvious that things works slightly different from all this wonderful utopia proclamations.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Sumac

1000% this.
Infantilism of the Western society is a thing, sadly. Which explains a lot about current political climate.

Someone told me once there is a theory about how people and societies get more sensitive or mentally weaker when they go through long periods of peace/no war or something like that.

Europe and the Western world as a whole have enjoyed a lot of peace and prosperity since the 2nd half of the 20th century, which is good, but I guess on the other hand we've become a bit weak as well. So it's a double-edged sword.

Many decades ago, people simply didn't have the time to feel down or unhappy. They were too worried about not dying in a war or not starving to death.

[Voltron]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Many decades ago, people simply didn't have the time to feel down or unhappy. They were too worried about not dying in a war or not starving to death.

What the hell? That's the definition of feeling down and unhappy. That's why we had that many wars. The Bolsheviks didn't murder the Tsar because it was on their to-do list. People were in constant misery. And there's ample evidence of this. I mean, Charles Dickens is famous for talking about how much life sucked in England. Even the Bible details how bad everything was starting pretty much from the get-go.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Voltron

What the hell? That's the definition of feeling down and unhappy. That's why we had that many wars. The Bolsheviks didn't murder the Tsar because it was on their to-do list. People were in constant misery. And there's ample evidence of this. I mean, Charles Dickens is famous for talking about how much life sucked in England. Even the Bible details how bad everything was starting pretty much from the get-go.

I mean, they weren't happy, but at the same time mental health, depression, etc. weren't very well known yet. And people couldn't search for professional help as easily as they can nowadays. Plus, it's likely you'd be either too poor to afford it or you'd just be busy somewhere else fighting a war. That's what I was trying to say.

[sdp]

I don't see how young people are such a big concern, no matter how uneducated they are while voting they don't vote in such great numbers. The older people grow the less informed they are about the world around them and they start making decisions based on their outdated thinking. They represent a much larger percentage and actually affect results.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by Voltron

What the hell? That's the definition of feeling down and unhappy. That's why we had that many wars.

War is euphoric.

[Voltron]

Really? i've always heard that war is Hell. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

War is euphoric.

You’re making me think of a evil version of WarriorMale

[IndigoErth]

I'm kind of torn on lowering the age... While a lot more youth seem to be interested in politics and what's going on in the world and their own country than they were in my day, I'm sure there is probably still a large percentage (maybe a majority?) that, like many of us back then, really couldn't care less yet and hardly have a clue. And uninformed votes are not really what we need more of. It's hard enough to hope most of the adults are.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by FredWolfLeonardo

War is euphoric.

Originally Posted by Voltron

Really? i've always heard that war is Hell.

My father used to say, "War is Inevitable".

We didn't agree on much, but he was a big student of history and despite being a huge hippie, constantly laughed off any notions of humankind ever achieving any meaningful "peace", citing how too much of the global economy depends on war for it to ever go away, and besides that, how human beings are generally incapable of solving their differences through non-violent means. "Any concept or idea that's been with us longer than 'civilization' itself is never going away," basically. It's too ingrained in who we are.

I often question whether he was a fan of the "hippie" movement for any reasons beyond all the drugs and pussy. But he did love The Grateful Dead beyond any and all rationale or reason. So maybe he was just a very complicated person.