Last week, when I wrote about the upcoming June elections for European Parliament and the growing unease going on full panic in Brussels with regard to projections that “radical right parties” could be the big winners, I suggested the only way to avoid this was to tone down the climate apocalypse rhetoric. I was wrong. I was very wrong.
A great article, 16 driven by 95% hormones and 5% beer, my beer % would have been a little bigger but well within the range! eugyppius made a similar argument recently about being careful who you enfranchise with the vote. Germany enfranchised immigrants, let's be honorable and invite all our new friends into the party, you know who to vote for, wink wink. And then, low and behold, not only are they conservative and vote such (extreme right wing but not qualifying as white supremacists) they are also founding a local German branch of the AKP, the Turkish party led by Erdogan. (extreme right wing not qualifying as white supremacist party). Now there is lament on the left as they wonder "Why have you abandoned me?" To back up your point on where will young people vote with some Canadian statistics, the conservative leader (extreme right wing white supremacist who is a Trump puppet) now leads in all voting groups by over 10% from 18 to over 65 with the exception of women over the age of 50. The reason has been his unrelenting onslaught on social media explaining why the desperate economic problems exist in our country. Something the young people understand all too well as they face unaffordable housing, a crumbled health care system, high taxes, degrees which leave them unemployable and a rapid hollowing out of our industrial and resource production base through careless government policies. More of the youth see that than less. Maybe going down to 16 isn't such a bad idea after all.
In Finland there are so-called "youth elections" done at the same time with "official" elections, and as far as I can see, climate alarmists wouldn't like the results at all. Can't tell how representative such elections are, but it's another piece of evidence that makes me think that kids are mostly fine till they enter the office workforce, and that's where they convert to the office religion.
Being the father of a 17 year-old boy currently, I'm fairly well-versed in the teen mindset of both my son and his peer group. While most of them are fairly well grounded, they still lack the experience necessary to make critical decisions like how to run the country.
The US floats the idea of dropping our voting age to 16 from time to time, but it's never really gained much traction.
And my son and most of his friends are surprisingly conservative organically, and they tell me that they are in large part because they're already tired of all the GOV meddling in their young lives.
The US left has also banked on importing as much of Central America as possible, as they see them as future democrat voters, but they forget that the vast majority of them are devout Catholics, and fairly conservative as well.
Let's hope all these power-grabs backfire in 2024, and "The Far Right™" prevails!
In my formative teenage years I missed out on age related events. The secondary school attended, started its first 6th form in 1962. I started 6th form at 15, but within a couple of months I’d secured a 5 year bonded electrical apprenticeship (my father paying the bond) with a local authority at age 15, the next year they’d only be recruiting 16 year olds . My apprenticeship based on successfully attaining minimum City & Guild ONC level wouldn’t finish until I was 21 years of age, so effectively I’d have served 6 years. The bonded apprenticeship was governed by electrical trades union. When reaching 19 was classed as a journeyman electrician, and by then trade union agreed, dependant upon appropriate academic level reached, that time served could be reduced to 4 years, so 20 years of age to fully qualify, in that respect I qualified but I’d still served 5 years, others following only having to do 4 years, with bound apprenticeship being dropped. Currently apprenticeships are 2 to 3 years but that’s another story. When I started my apprenticeship at 15 the death penalty existed in UK, it wasn’t withdrawn until 1969. Also prior to 1969 voting age stood at 21, then dropped to 18, I was then 22. My children could vote at 18 but first voted in their 20’s (their choice) My grandchildren children 8 of them, the eldest 31 years of age, out of the 8 all eligible to vote, only 3 have, first voting in their 20’s.
So I’m not confident there would be a rush of 16 or 13 year olds to vote, or at least in any substantial numbers🤔
I see lines of tractors and flames kilometers long and high in Europes’ near future. In places like France, Germany, even all the way up at EU headquarters.
Irina, this column brought out my younger self - the one who immediately took the opposite of whatever position my parents held at the time. So in the spirit of tongue in cheek, if I were a 16 year old excited about the chance to "be heard at the ballot box", I'd ask why this idea is so outrageous when we allow 80+ people who don't even seem to know where they are at any given time to vote, hold office, and serve as figureheads for whoever it is that's writing their press conferences. If governments turn a blind eye to child slavery and sex traffic, at least the children who are apparently old enough to be used by them should have their say somehow.
As we mature , we often learn there are some thing where we absolutely don't what the responsibility of making the final decision, things that can range from brain surgery, to auto mechanics or baking bread. That can also apply to voting.; do you want to add your ignorance to everyone else's?
Sometime, as Robert Heinlein said, "If you must vote and can't think of who to support, look for the most ignorant fellow you know, ask him and ... vote for the other guy."
Mistakes are never easy to correct, and while you try to correct the mistake, unintended consequences arise, and no matter what you do to get back to where you were, at some point you have to have to live with it. I remember when the voting age changed from 21 to 18, my parents weren't happy about it, my brothers and I were all for it! Oh my has time changed, while I can write a book about voting rights and enacting laws without representation, believing a 16 year old is capable of voting means they know the difference between Right and Wrong, thus are NO Longer a Child; let that sink in.
The law of unintended consequences strikes again.
The law of unintended consequences strikes again.
scary.....very.....
A great article, 16 driven by 95% hormones and 5% beer, my beer % would have been a little bigger but well within the range! eugyppius made a similar argument recently about being careful who you enfranchise with the vote. Germany enfranchised immigrants, let's be honorable and invite all our new friends into the party, you know who to vote for, wink wink. And then, low and behold, not only are they conservative and vote such (extreme right wing but not qualifying as white supremacists) they are also founding a local German branch of the AKP, the Turkish party led by Erdogan. (extreme right wing not qualifying as white supremacist party). Now there is lament on the left as they wonder "Why have you abandoned me?" To back up your point on where will young people vote with some Canadian statistics, the conservative leader (extreme right wing white supremacist who is a Trump puppet) now leads in all voting groups by over 10% from 18 to over 65 with the exception of women over the age of 50. The reason has been his unrelenting onslaught on social media explaining why the desperate economic problems exist in our country. Something the young people understand all too well as they face unaffordable housing, a crumbled health care system, high taxes, degrees which leave them unemployable and a rapid hollowing out of our industrial and resource production base through careless government policies. More of the youth see that than less. Maybe going down to 16 isn't such a bad idea after all.
Absolute Bullseye! and why teens are prone to panic attacks, A
Enjoy 2 mins 48 secs…. https://youtu.be/dLuEY6jN6gY?si=Jqknp16c6EbsS-D8
In Finland there are so-called "youth elections" done at the same time with "official" elections, and as far as I can see, climate alarmists wouldn't like the results at all. Can't tell how representative such elections are, but it's another piece of evidence that makes me think that kids are mostly fine till they enter the office workforce, and that's where they convert to the office religion.
Being the father of a 17 year-old boy currently, I'm fairly well-versed in the teen mindset of both my son and his peer group. While most of them are fairly well grounded, they still lack the experience necessary to make critical decisions like how to run the country.
The US floats the idea of dropping our voting age to 16 from time to time, but it's never really gained much traction.
And my son and most of his friends are surprisingly conservative organically, and they tell me that they are in large part because they're already tired of all the GOV meddling in their young lives.
The US left has also banked on importing as much of Central America as possible, as they see them as future democrat voters, but they forget that the vast majority of them are devout Catholics, and fairly conservative as well.
Let's hope all these power-grabs backfire in 2024, and "The Far Right™" prevails!
In my formative teenage years I missed out on age related events. The secondary school attended, started its first 6th form in 1962. I started 6th form at 15, but within a couple of months I’d secured a 5 year bonded electrical apprenticeship (my father paying the bond) with a local authority at age 15, the next year they’d only be recruiting 16 year olds . My apprenticeship based on successfully attaining minimum City & Guild ONC level wouldn’t finish until I was 21 years of age, so effectively I’d have served 6 years. The bonded apprenticeship was governed by electrical trades union. When reaching 19 was classed as a journeyman electrician, and by then trade union agreed, dependant upon appropriate academic level reached, that time served could be reduced to 4 years, so 20 years of age to fully qualify, in that respect I qualified but I’d still served 5 years, others following only having to do 4 years, with bound apprenticeship being dropped. Currently apprenticeships are 2 to 3 years but that’s another story. When I started my apprenticeship at 15 the death penalty existed in UK, it wasn’t withdrawn until 1969. Also prior to 1969 voting age stood at 21, then dropped to 18, I was then 22. My children could vote at 18 but first voted in their 20’s (their choice) My grandchildren children 8 of them, the eldest 31 years of age, out of the 8 all eligible to vote, only 3 have, first voting in their 20’s.
So I’m not confident there would be a rush of 16 or 13 year olds to vote, or at least in any substantial numbers🤔
I see lines of tractors and flames kilometers long and high in Europes’ near future. In places like France, Germany, even all the way up at EU headquarters.
Oh wait…
🔥
Irina, this column brought out my younger self - the one who immediately took the opposite of whatever position my parents held at the time. So in the spirit of tongue in cheek, if I were a 16 year old excited about the chance to "be heard at the ballot box", I'd ask why this idea is so outrageous when we allow 80+ people who don't even seem to know where they are at any given time to vote, hold office, and serve as figureheads for whoever it is that's writing their press conferences. If governments turn a blind eye to child slavery and sex traffic, at least the children who are apparently old enough to be used by them should have their say somehow.
I believe that children are the future—not the present. Europe is screwed.
Why stop at 13? Lower the voting age to 3! If the kid can hold a crayon, the kid can mark a ballot. Because get the youth involved and all that.
As we mature , we often learn there are some thing where we absolutely don't what the responsibility of making the final decision, things that can range from brain surgery, to auto mechanics or baking bread. That can also apply to voting.; do you want to add your ignorance to everyone else's?
Sometime, as Robert Heinlein said, "If you must vote and can't think of who to support, look for the most ignorant fellow you know, ask him and ... vote for the other guy."
Mistakes are never easy to correct, and while you try to correct the mistake, unintended consequences arise, and no matter what you do to get back to where you were, at some point you have to have to live with it. I remember when the voting age changed from 21 to 18, my parents weren't happy about it, my brothers and I were all for it! Oh my has time changed, while I can write a book about voting rights and enacting laws without representation, believing a 16 year old is capable of voting means they know the difference between Right and Wrong, thus are NO Longer a Child; let that sink in.