Essay by Eric Worrall
Two secondary school Greta minions have demanded the vote, so they can push aside all the older climate action blockers. But there is a reason we don’t allow kids to vote.
If we have to fight this war, give us a say in the battle plans
ByArlo Foyn Hill and Qing Ng
February 6, 2023 — 5.00amOn Wednesday, Ross Gittins wrote an apology to his grandkids for not fighting the war of our times. He questioned whether the politicians pushing the government’s flawed climate policy were quietly banking on not being around long enough to have to explain their actions to their grandkids.
Young people will bear the brunt of climate change impacts but have also driven a global movement calling for action from world leaders – our elders. We are the ones who will face worsening extreme weather, and should have a say in what our leaders are doing to keep us safe.
…
It is clear that if we are to make real progress towards a sustainable future the time has come for us to pass the microphone to the younger generation.
From the age of 16, young people can drive, work, pay taxes and even enlist in the military. A whole demographic of working, contributing citizens given civic duties but withheld from one of the most important civic rights: the right to vote.
Younger people are politically engaged and contribute an essential voice. In a world where the climate emergency is such a defining issue, it is vital that the voice of the future is invited to the table to work towards solutions, rather than handing over everything to those who think they may not be around to see extreme consequences.
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Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/national/if-we-have-to-fight-this-war-give-us-a-say-in-the-battle-plans-20230203-p5cht4.html
One important life event most 16 year olds have not experienced is paying their own utility bills.
In my opinion, the main reason most people don’t support radical climate action to the extent many 16 year olds do, is adults with real responsibilities prefer to have enough money left to buy food, after paying all the bills.
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The real objective is to give 25 votes each to teachers. That’s a small group (especially when restricted to the teens) that is distinctly left leaning, and these days winnowed to be so by teacher training and employment.
Time and time again we’ve been told that teenagers’ brains are undeveloped and they can’t be held responsible when they are accused of crimes. Now we’re supposed to give them the right to vote.
Sorry, I don’t have any links as a reference and I’m not going to look for any, either. Dollars to donuts it’s the same people telling us both things.
Let’s change the voting age to 31.
The idiot Ross Gittins wrote:
This is patently untrue. I have no idea why people let journalists get away with claiming such rubbish.
“In my opinion, the main reason most people don’t support radical climate action to the extent many 16 year olds do, is adults with real responsibilities prefer to have enough money left to buy food, after paying all the bills.”
Several countries are reacting with horror at the extent that transport, food and energy bills are skyrocketing. They are installing pointless subsidies to support poor people. The trouble is, the skyrocketing of bills is not an accidental side-effect of green energy policies, they’re the main intent, so a few token subsidies won’t protect anyone.
Robert Heinlein once wrote a book in which you didn’t get a vote unless you’d served in the military. This must have been shortly after World War II. I always had a lot of sympathy for the idea.
That would be Starship Troopers (the book differs vastly from the movie if you’ve only seen the movie). Although it’s a theme that carried through a good bit of his other writing.
Dear Arlo Foyn Hill and Qing Ng,
I was once 16 for a year, and like you, I thought I knew it all, saw everything more clearly than adults. And, like you, I was also young and dumb. And too ignorant to realize it. Just like you and Greta.
Of course, in 1970 the “existential threat” facing us were small things like the Cold War, Nuclear Armageddon (We were old enough to remember the Cuban Missal Crisis. Ever hear of it?), Vietnam War, small stuff compared to the hypothetical threat of the magic molecule, Man’s CO2, which has the power to both heat and cool the climate at the same time! (Depending on the weather.)
No, a 16 year old is not ready to vote.
Sincerely,
Been There, Done That, Outgrew the Tee-Shirt
Let us look at some real world numbers on Youth and their voting.
Here in Oz the Greens have hovered around 10% of the vote for decades. They vary a bit each election cycle but have shown no real long term growth.
Yet it is openly accepted that the ‘Youth Vote’ is Green. First time voters love the Greens and the Greens even brag about this.
It is also a discussion point in some circles that ‘conservative’ voters are all old boring people and the sooner they all die from old age the better.
So, in theory the youth coming in a Green and the older going out are conservatives. So following this logic the conservative vote is declining and being replaced by the more properly educated green aware youth.
So the Green vote should clearly be increasing every year, right?
NOPE.
What instead is very clear is that Youth Voters stop caring about Youth Issues after a few birthdays and slowly drift to the right.
This, when you think about it honestly, makes perfect sense. Youth Issues are important to YOUTH. Not 20 somethings. You know who hates 17 year olds? 18 and 19 year olds. High School into uni is a big transition. Teenagers go from know all high school people at the top of their social group to annoying first year uni students who are yet to realise no one cares that they were once the cool kids at High School. Not just talking about environmental issues, but anything that favours teens over 20s somethings does not get much support by the 20 year olds.
Young people turn into older people within a single election cycle.
If anything we should be raising the voting age in Australia to 19. It would gut the Greens 😀
Young people are stupid, they should raise the age to 21.
YEAH! More ignorant voters, that’s what we need! The less they know, the better!
give the vote to all the aborted feotuses and let democrat ballot harvesters vote for them !!