Baby Voters

Baby Voters
These days children are seemingly growing up faster and faster, they are getting cell phones, shorter and skimpier clothes, make-up, and boyfriends all before they are even enter junior high school.   However, these children are still young and carefree. They shop, have fun, and do not pay too much attention to what is really going on in the world. In Roth’s essay, he states that sixteen and seventeen year olds should be allowed to vote. His reasoning is that they are good shoppers, so they would be good voters as well. Although, sixteen and seventeen years olds can be cautious consumers, that does not ultimately mean they would be cautious voters; their lack of political knowledge and care of their world shows their carelessness towards society.
      For most young adults voting is another sign of growing up. Teenage shoppers have freedom to do mostly what they want. They are able to thoughtfully buy what suits their own needs. Once teens turn eighteen, they are allowed to vote, smoke, and drive. Freedom to become a normal functioning adult. However, if as a society we decide to lower the voting age, like Roth has suggested this country would be creating a world where sixteen year olds need to become adults. They would now have to step outside of their own world and into the real world, and learn about their surroundings. Lowering the voting age would make our society lower a multitude of laws and restrictions for teenagers; making them grow up faster then they already are.
      In most public high schools students learn about world history and basic U.S. history between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. Most young people grow up as cautious shoppers but do not learn about the political aspect of our country until they are up to seventeen, which is their senior year.   Children may not take class as to how to shop, but this society is a capitalist country so everyone knows how to shop at young ages. Watching television commercials, seeing... [continues]

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