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Voting Essay

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Submitted By emmajamayes15
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No Way, No Change
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world.” -Sharon Salzberg
Why would you want a change? Why take away our rights? Is it that, you feel that we don’t have the right mindset to choose our politicians, who will run our country? But our men who are eighteen are old enough to go and fight in the war. These are questions you must ask yourself. Do not take away the rights of an eighteen year old. Let us keep the chance to vote.
There are so many reasons to keep the age limit the same. For example, by keeping the voting age at 18, it has encouraged responsibility at an early age, and has promoted lasting social involvement and political participation from youth. When the youth see other youth getting involved, they want to join as well. It’s the domino effect when one fall into doing something, the rest will fall into place as well. Instead of changing the age to twenty-one, why don’t we encourage the responsibility that it takes to vote. Adults should not want to limit how many people should be able to vote. They should want more people to vote that way it’s a better chance for who they want elected to be elected. I mean, shouldn’t we as teenagers have a say so in who runs our country?
Democrat Senator Edward Ted Kennedy (United States) states that 18 year-olds already have many rights and responsibilities in our society comparable to voting. It does not automatically follow of course-- simply because an 18 year-old goes to war, or works, or marries, or makes a contract, or pays taxes, or drives a car, or owns a gun, or is held criminally responsible, like an adult--that he should thereby be entitled to vote. Each right or responsibility in our society presents unique questions dependent on the particular issue at stake. (http://tedkennedy.org/ownwords/event/voting_age).
I agree with Kennedy because if the 18 year old men and women can go into the military and fight for our country. They should be able to vote for the man or women who is allowing them to go. I feel as if once you are at the age where you can work and own things such as cars homes and you are able to be charged as an adult at 18, then again I say we should be able to vote.
I believe it is informative for the youth who are getting ready to become adults to know about all the politicians and laws that will be made for our future. If you were eighteen would you want to vote? If they changed it how would you feel? I know for me I feel as if they are taking away my right to vote. In the past they gave us a right to vote but as an African American there were many amendments that were put into place for African Americans not to be able to vote, but once these amendments changed and the age changed as well it became better. I know it’s not a race issue but for those eighteen year old African Americans, how do you think they would feel? Do you think they would like this change?
Works Cited
(http://tedkennedy.org/ownwords/event/voting_age
http://kids.laws.com/20th-amendment
http://www.brainyquote.com/

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