The United States is known for its bizarre age difference of legal activities. You have to be 14 to get a workers permit, 16 to drive, 18 to get married, move out without parents permission, adopt a kid and vote, 21 to drink and 35 to run for president. What actually determines those ages? Who determines that a 18 year old is mature enough to do just about all adult things, but they can’t drink? It’s been a long conversation, the conversation of lowering and raising certain legal ages. From what I’ve seen, it’s the younger people that want to lower legal ages, and the older people that want to raise them. That ties in with the fact that the older generations always want things to stay in line. Being so old fashioned leads them to shy away from exploring the lives of today’s youth, and getting to know this generation as a whole rather than their grandchildren. They just don’t seem to believe in younger generations, which is odd considering that’s who is going to be taking care of them in the future. But maybe we’ll have robots to do it for us. 

I asked my twelve year old sister, what she thought about the whole situation. She says she “I think the age should be lowered to fifteen,” that’s probably because she wants me to be able to vote now, but that’s besides the point. “I think that kids are very educated when it comes to politics.” She told me that it’s possible for some sixteen year olds to be as mature, or even more mature than some adults. I agree with her, but the way she worded it wouldn’t really make a great argument. I mean, she’s only twelve, so that’s understandable. 

I decided to talk to Geneva Bessette. Geneva is an active member of the gen z community, and is an inspiration to many when it comes to having an opinion, and speaking her mind. 

“You’re 16 and the election is happening. One of the nominees is for free education, the other is against it. You can’t vote, you have no say. It’s 3 years later and you’re wanting to go to community college, but you can’t afford it. Not only does that leave that citizen at a disadvantage due to age, but it makes them feel cheated. We can’t have a functional nation if the new generations coming into the economy can’t trust and feel cheated by their government,” She says passionately. These days it’s very easy to have topics that will heavily impact the young generation, and future generations to come, but we don’t really have a decision. “Let’s address the argument I’ve most commonly received against this. What if they think it’s a joke? What if they don’t take it seriously? Here’s the thing, being a teen myself and knowing other teens my age and up, I can tell you, it’s not worth the effort. Adults won’t even vote when they have full independence and a mode of transportation. If it’s truly a concern we could implement a test, one that surely accommodates to the disabled. This will discourage anyone who doesn’t truly want to vote.” She also says. 

If you had to ask me what I think should happen, and I absolutely had to give an answer, I would say that I agree with Geneva and my little sister. We were raised in a way that we are to be self aware, and we are educating ourselves on basic things in life that matter. We also know a lot about what’s best for us. So, in conclusion, I do believe that the voting age should be reconsidered. Of course, there will be some limits and strings attached, but our generation is capable of amazing things.