I see that Jacinda Ardern is intent on lowering the voting age to sixteen in New Zealand. It’s a developing trend. Let’s face it, nobody remotely believes that the voting age will be restored to twenty-one from where it should never have been lowered. All the impetus, from the left and from the greenies, is to lower the voting age to sixteen; and, be of no doubt, on the way to fourteen. I read in disbelief that David Runciman, professor of politics at Cambridge University, thinks there is a strong case for dropping the age to as low as six. I assume that’s a spoof. But who can tell. Give me any ridiculous idea and I’ll find you the academic who supports it.
Apparently the human brain is not fully developed until the age of about twenty-five; and in the case of some academics one hundred and twenty-five. I imagine the brain of someone aged sixteen years has a way to go. Eighteen too, for that matter. There is no mystery as why the left side of politics favours lowering the voting age. Children are more likely to support utopian ideas which have no practical application. However, labour parties (parties which have evolved from the traditional left) should watch out. Green parties can out-utopian labour parties any old day.
I would say that lowering the voting age means more youthful pipedreams ahead but then some elite oldies are already off and running. Regressed to a callow stage. Pulled the rug from under the youngsters’ feet, so to speak. Apropos, the mirage of bucket loads of green hydrogen emerging from our north to all parts of the world propagated by Andrew Forest et al; the emergence of Queensland as a global renewal-energy powerhouse according to Annastacia Palaszczuk and her cronies; and yesterday, in the Weekend Australian, I read about aging economist Ross Garnaut expressing his belief that Australia is ideally placed in the world to export steel made from iron ore and green hydrogen. I could obviously go on. Pipedreams aplenty to pick from without relying on lowering the voting age.
It’s so they can be conscripted. They won’t realise until it’s too late.
And they know who you are
Children are definitely impressed by utopian ideas.
And absurd ones as well.
Secondary school girls are embracing the substitution of “they” for “he/she” in their writing.
The boys probably don’t care.
A prelude to legalising pedophilia
Good point, Zipster. A 16 year old can marry a 60 year old and it’s all above board?
Drinking alcohol is permitted, too? Firearms, medical consent, driving. The list goes on.
Children at school can choose to “transition” without parental consent or presumably knowledge . Way before they can vote, smoke, drive , have sex or join the army . Nucking futs.
16 year olds reckon they have right to vote because they’re the ones who will live with the decisions. When they get to their 30s they’ll resent the decisions made half their life ago.
This cynical idea has been around for many years. It nèeds to called out for what it is “predatory”.
It’s almost traditional for older folk to say “the world has gone mad”.
At this time, it’s an aphorism that is observably true.
I think it is a sound tactical move by the left. Dan has proved he is hard wired into the younger voters thru instagram, facebook, tik tok. ‘He is wonderful, everyday he has a positive message’ as one twenty nothing work colleague said.
The left share their strategies and tactics globally. 16yo voting rights will entrench power with the left for decades.
Meanwhile the right do press Q and A and letterbox drop. Behold fighting a war based on the last wars rules.
Bloody hell. I made decisions in my 30’s that I still regret!
We all know teenagers don’t make any bad decisions.
What could possibly go wrong?
When politicians, academics and so-called intelligent people listen to 16 year olds eg. Greta thunberg, you know the world has gone nuts.
Has Arden entered the Gillard “ We’re going to get thrown out what else do we want?” phase yet?
And Monique Ryan will introduce a Bill to this effect in our parliament next year.
When Campbell Newman lost the Qld election back in the day, it emerged that something like 70% of women in Gold Coast electorates aged between 18 and 25 voted for the Greens. This is definitive proof that women (at least on the Gold Coast) should, barring exceptions (see below) be deprived of the vote until they’re at least 26.
Personally I’m not opposed in principle to 16yos being allowed the vote. But to be qualified, they have to : own property and pay taxes/rates, etc, on it (not that I’m enamoured of taxation – au contraire), or run a business they own (so, taxes, etc), or be employed (so, taxes, etc) and thus pay income tax, or: be married and have children.
John Holt in his “Escape from Childhood: The Needs and Rights of Children” cites the case a 14 year old boy (if I recall) commanding a gunboat in the American civil war. And mentions that at age 17, the future Richard III was given control of all the forces of much of the northern part of England, and by all accounts did a pretty good job. Holt was a bit Rousseauian (?), IMO, but often he made some really good points.
The existence of a small number of able, competent teenagers has bugger all to do with letting all teenagers vote.
No women should be allowed to vote until she’s brought up two children to the age of ten.
No woman with tatts should be allowed to vote.
No man should be allowed to vote until he owns his own house.
No university academic should be allowed to vote.
Nobody should vote until there’s someone worth voting for.
You can work full time at 16, so why not vote?
Yes, yes, we know why this suggestion is coming from the left, they know that younger age demographic skews progressive. But why so?
Because traditional, conservative folks have conceded education, the arts and entertainment to the progressive left. Because they couldn’t be arsed educating, entertaining and passing along life’s lessons to the next generations.
Then they decided to farm out to the libertarians the work of constructing an intellectual foundation for the modern right. Instead of values like modesty, industry, honesty and thrift, they are lost in a miasma of crap about freedom, trade and the right to put your cock wherever you like.
If you aren’t prepared to put in the work, then don’t complain about the obvious consequences.
Get a load of the national socialist riling against libertarians again. The delusional lardball appears to think every social I’ll is caused by libertarians. In incredible thought leadership being shown here.
Can someone ask the national socialist what he did to help nudge teaching away from the left. He often claims he was a teacher so let’s hear what he did and is currently doing now.