16 too young to have a vote

Dear editor: Re: Let youth be served, Herald, Editorial, June 15

James Miller kicked off a discussion about giving 16-year-olds the vote and mentioned that the Greens and NDP think the idea has some merit.

I’m afraid that giving 16-yearolds the vote might see them voting for free earbuds, fast food passes and access to pot. The pot promise certainly worked for 18-year-olds last time.

We already have a problem with juvenile obesity and we know that pot can lead to an unproductive life of dependency. Maybe that’s why the NDP and Greens like the idea.

Kids don’t know what they want in life or what’s best for themselves, let alone others.

The general idea, at least until now, is that voters should be mature enough to exercise their vote in a thoughtful and responsible way. Argentina, Austria, Brazil or Scotland aren’t necessarily examples of how it can work. None of them, except for Austria, are doing particularly well these days. Excessive socialism is their Kryptonite.

We already have the kids in charge in Ottawa, and how’s that working out for us? Winston Churchill once said that a fiveminute conversation with the average voter was the best argument against democracy that he knew of.

Nope, we should keep 16-yearolds out of the voting booths. They’re old enough to drive a car, but not to do military service or drink legally, at least not yet. The best thing that we can do for them is to give them a quality education and try to operate a country where they have the skills and opportunities to fulfill their potential.

Education in civics needs a re-boot. Kids should be taught that voting isn’t about picking somebody who acts cool or promises the most free stuff, and that voting for something beneficial to themselves often means taking away from someone else.

They should also understand that tremendous sacrifices were made by Canadians in uniform to protect our freedom to vote and to restore the ability to vote for most of the people in Europe. The current generations, which are driven by self-interest, aren’t up to this mark.

Patriotism is never outdated, but our current prime minister’s declarations about Canada being a post-national state with no core identity aren’t helping. The men of Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach would not be happy to hear that kind of piffle.

The hard won privilege of voting is something to be exercised with respect and a sober sense of responsibility for its consequences.

The NDP, Greens and various social engineers would be further ahead to come up with some constructive polices that make sense to mainstream voters instead of looking to exploit kids for political gain. John Thompson Kaleden