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Thread: What should the voting age be?

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  1. #1
    The Rhetorician Member Skullheadhq's Avatar
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    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    Quote Originally Posted by HoreTore View Post
    Are you saying that democracy cannot work for a diverse country like the US?
    "When the candles are out all women are fair."
    -Plutarch, Coniugia Praecepta 46

  2. #2
    has a Senior Member HoreTore's Avatar
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    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    Quote Originally Posted by Skullheadhq View Post
    Ah yes, I forgot. There has never been civil war between Brit against Brit or Norwegian against Norwegian.

    Sorry then, move along here....

    An interesting thing to note, however, is that the wounds from the civil war have been healed, and it did so within a democracy, even one where one part was smaller than the other.....

    Hm.
    Still maintain that crying on the pitch should warrant a 3 match ban

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    Darkside Medic Senior Member rory_20_uk's Avatar
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    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    Yeah, healed. The South wasn't beaten to sue for peace and aren't at all upset by it.

    A "democracy" where the states can't vote to leave even if they want to as if that were to happen habeus corpus would be revoked and the state invaded.

    An enemy that wishes to die for their country is the best sort to face - you both have the same aim in mind.
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    has a Senior Member HoreTore's Avatar
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    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    Quote Originally Posted by rory_20_uk View Post
    Yeah, healed. The South wasn't beaten to sue for peace and aren't at all upset by it.

    A "democracy" where the states can't vote to leave even if they want to as if that were to happen habeus corpus would be revoked and the state invaded.

    As far as I know, the people living in the states feel quite included in America.

    I haven't heard of any recent suggestions(well, any serious ones) by the south to secede, so obviously they can't feel like they did in the 1860's anymore.
    Still maintain that crying on the pitch should warrant a 3 match ban

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    The Rhetorician Member Skullheadhq's Avatar
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    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    Naw...

    Georgia
    On April 1, 2009, the Georgia State Senate passed a resolution 43-1 that affirmed the right of states to nullify federal laws. The resolution also included the assertion that if Congress took certain steps, including restricting firearms or ammunition, the United States government would cease to exist

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secessi..._United_States
    "When the candles are out all women are fair."
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    Senior Member Senior Member naut's Avatar
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    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    As soon as possible. Delaying it will mean that it doesn't become part of a person's life early enough for it to form a core life habit. Yeh what if you have more "life experience" by age 25+ (which is purely subjective and variable anyway), if people haven't been made to or been encouraged to vote at a young age they never will and they won't care two bats about the democratic process.
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  7. #7
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    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    I would suggest that one theme here that might have some explanative power is the concept of "identity." One's sense of self has quite a few implications. For a lot of people, "nation" constitutes a significant component of that sense of identity and is, functionally, integral. Simply "being heard" does contribute to the acceptance of a decision, but will NOT suffice if being heard runs counter to one's sense of self as identified nationally or culturally.

    For you, Horetore, being Norwegian is very different from the sense of Norwegian-ness that was likely applied to their own identities by, for example, your grandparents. Being part of a nation is, for you, secondary to other factors in defining your sense of self.

    As to the USA:

    Under the original interpretation of the Constitution, we were THESE United States and not THE United States. So cultural and tax concerns relevant to Bostonians were supposed to be the purview of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and not of the state of Mississippi precisely BECAUSE the founders felt that the best means to address the issue should be the collective decision of those affected thereby. The Federal government was the means to address international interaction and to address only those concerns that impinged upon several of the states at the same time. It was only after the arrogation of authority by the federal government that Lincoln used to win the Civil War that the USA began to emphasize the federal government over the states. The shift in power was, in retrospect, a fundamental alteration of how we did business.
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  8. #8

    Default Re: What should the voting age be?

    Quote Originally Posted by Psychonaut View Post
    As soon as possible. Delaying it will mean that it doesn't become part of a person's life early enough for it to form a core life habit. Yeh what if you have more "life experience" by age 25+ (which is purely subjective and variable anyway), if people haven't been made to or been encouraged to vote at a young age they never will and they won't care two bats about the democratic process.
    But voting isn't something we want people to "just do". That the maturation between 18 and 25 is variable is irrelevant (true of any age number) and why do you say it is subjective? Are you denying that it happens or are you saying that we can't tell when it happens? But we don't need to do it on a case by case basis.

    Why would we want as many people to vote as possible with no eye to how thoughtful and well considered their votes are?

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