The Debate Rages On: Should People Over 65 Have The Right To Vote?

John Rich2/07/2023 5:00 PM

Now This News hit the streets to ask an important question. It's something we've all thought about. Should older people have rights? There is no simple answer. On one hand, we live in a democracy. Equal rights for all is the foundation on which our entire country was built. The 24th amendment guarantees United States citizens the right to Vote. But what if Gen Z doesn't want them to? Then what do we do?

The female interviewee in the video raises a valid point, "It's conflicting cause there's, like, a very large generational gap of, like, beliefs," pointing out the fact that citizens over 65-years-old are likely to have different opinions than younger voters. If senior citizens are likely to vote against the things we want, should we really be giving them a voice?

The third interviewee echoes a similar sentiment, "They're sort of out of touch with the issues that people, like, our age are facing." Ask yourself, will a senior citizen vote to eradicate the $90,000 college debt of a 40-year-old man who spent 8 years getting his undergraduate degree from a college who has sent acceptance letters to zoo animals? If senior citizens had their way, this hypothetical man would be legally responsible for settling his own debts. How is that fair?

She goes onto say, "But people over 65 still have their own things they gotta worry about, like social security and all that." Which is a nice thought, but what does social security and all that matter to me? I'm barely 30. If an issue doesn't directly affect my life in a very immediate way, then why should I care about it?

Not to mention, seniors often times need their hands held to accomplish simple tasks such as navigating the smart TV.

Even something as straightforward as sending a text message with font the size of a smart car can be difficult. Or clipping and uploading a LeBron James slam dunk video and running it through a burner account so they don't receive a DMCA on Twitter. Then logging into a separate Lebron James hate account and replying to the video with a list of LeBron's Mickey Mouse accomplishments to drive traffic to the post.

Gen Z'ers on the other hand are able to expertly traverse the internet and introduce new mentally stimulating content to the world via the latest most complex apps. Try to explain the importance of content like this to a Baby Boomer.

Boomers simply do not understand the importance of virality on the web. If you can't get on board with Boy-vs-Girl-Coffee-Bean-Scoops-Tok, then why should we trust you with anything?

"But, John. What does any of this have to do with voting?" Everything. A person's worth is measured by their online literacy. I would argue we should lower the voting age to give even younger minds an opportunity to be heard. These are the people who should be determining the fate of our country.

No amount of walking uphill both ways to and from school could have taught seniors the value of a TikTok Rose (roughly $0.01).

Don't get it twisted, I mean no disrespect to the elderly. Oscar Wilde famously said, "With age comes wisdom". But lest we forget, Oscar Wilde died at age 46, so what would he know? Science tells us when a person ages, important regions of their brain shrink, and blood flow to the brain decreases. Consider people over the age of 65.. Donald Sterling, Jerry Sandusky, Bill Cosby, Joe Biden, Harvey Weinstein. 2 months from now, Alec Baldwin will be in that group. That's a scary thought. Mismanaging a gun can take a life, but mismanaging a vote can take away the future of an entire generation.