The Voting Age Is Too Damn Low.

The U.S.A. has a fundamental flaw. It shot itself in the foot when it made the voting age 18. This self inflicted wound will insidiously drag this republic down.

The voting age should be at least 21. 18 year olds, in general, don't know what they're doing. Besides the fact that their brains aren't even fully formed, they simply don't have enough life experience and education to make a cogent decision on which direction this country should go.

If you have never had to pay rent, health insurance, utilities, and don't know what it's like to meet the basic requirements to survive on your own, and you are under 21, you should not have the entitlement to make choices that impact all that do pay their rent. Why should a teenager that is not functioning in the real world get to decide what the government is going to do to YOU?

We send our 18 year olds to college. Why? Because the don't have enough education yet. So why are we allowing them to vote on something that really requires knowledge?

If voting does not require knowledge, then let's let 12 year olds vote, why not 5 year olds?
What makes the number 18 so special?

Of course there should be exceptions. If you are 18 and are in the Armed Services, yes, you get to vote. If you are 18 and and can provide an electrical bill in your own name and show you are not a dependent, then you get a voter card giving you access to the voting booth.

The exceptions can be hashed out.

However, if the adults of the U.S. continue to allow an ignorant, Lord of the Flies contingent to influence the fate of this country, then they have abdicated their responsibility as adults. And both the young, and the old, will face the consequences.

In 1971 the Twenty-sixth Amendment (Amendment XXVI) to the United States Constitution was passed, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. This Amendment must be repealed and replaced with a voting age of 21 with certain exceptions for those between the age of 18 and 21, if this republic is going to survive.

Amendment XXVI was passed on an emotional Vietnam war slogan, "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote"...That should be the exception, not the rule.

The democrats now want 16 year olds to vote because they pay taxes. Well, what about the 15 or 14 year olds pay taxes? If that's the criteria, anyone that pays taxes should be allowed to vote. Which begs the question, should foreigners that pay taxes be allowed to vote? And should American citizens that do not pay taxes be barred from voting? Obviously, tax paying cannot be the sole criteria. How much skin you have in the game should be the main criteria. If you are independent, paying most or all your bills and are not a tax dependent on your parents or guardian, then you should vote.

The majority of 18-24 year olds live at home. So, for the sake of this country, let's split the difference and keep it at 21.

~Dhruva Aliman