I don't usually like participating in politics because of the drama it brings, but I have a few mins. to kill.Jeffery Mewtamer wrote:I'll admit universal suffrage alone doesn't do much to address more fundamental issues with our electoral process, but I still find the idea more palatable than a quarter of the population being disenfranchised over a arbitrarily placed age line, especially when there's evidence that disenfranchisement of youths feeds into voter apathy among the youngest who are on the right side of that line.
If being eligible to vote was based on more merit-based criteria, such as requireing a high school diploma, being legally emancipated, or passing the same tests foreign nationals have to take to gain US Citizenship, i would probably not be so bothered, even if it meant a larger portion of the population was barred from voting.
A quarter of the population is being disenfranchised due to age laws, but that same quarter also doesn't have to worry about being drafted, paying taxes, has benefits that cannot be revoked, must be cared for by some form of guardian or guardian(s), are going through a gap of their lives where their brains and bodies are developing at a somewhat alarming rate...etc
The laws are far from arbitrary. They were originally set to 21 for a specific reason, and changed to 18 for an even better reason. Just saying "They live in the USA!" doesn't mean we should give minors the right to vote, just like how I feel we shouldn't give illegal immigrants the right to vote.
You could argue that if a minor was supporting themselves with a job, owned their own domicile, and relied specifically on themselves to essentially live, then they should be able to vote. I would agree with that. However, the amount of minors able to do that are the major outliers. I could only count one person out of the hundered-thousands I knew throughout my life that was a minor, and had the ability to take care of themselves. And it was HARD on them.
I also feel that if they feel like they're facing injustice, that they should step up to the plate and win liberation for themselves. Minors don't need a 20+ year old man to fight for their right to vote, if they don't feel the need to vote themselves.
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Anyhow, I live in the USA. Brexit doesn't affect me as much as it does the British, but it obviously affects me, as it affects the whole world.
I'm personally happy that the UK is honoring the wishes of the pollers. There have been some times that I'm aware of, that the poller's opinions on the subject was just thrown out. You have to love that the UK is an actual democracy. The main man David even stepped down because he had differing opinions. Respect.
Also, after seeing the EU's actions after the UK left, such as the "Superstate", and the EU's refusal to even accept Britain's offer to talk before they even decided to put the referendum into effect is kinda telling. Sure, united you are strong, but united you also loose a lot of power to govern yourself. That's why the US had two very bloody civil wars.
And if this superstate is real, and if it does go into effect, the UK might have just dodged a large scale civil war, or the fall of the EU.