Nowadays we live in a democratic society, according to some people. Modern democracy allows 18-year-olds to vote in the general election or the elections for local government, the EU or for the president of the Republic. However, some people polemicize - should eighteen-year-olds be given the chance to vote at this age or not?
On one side, some people think that it's too early to vote at the age of eighteen. Their most commonly used argument is that young people are not able to make a rational decision about voting, as well as the pretense that they are not mature enough to accept the responsibility of exercising their democratic right. Many psychologists say that people are, generally, far more mature at their twenties. Also, 18-year-olds tend to choose non-serious parties which promise, for example, the legalisation of drugs. Lastly, the young are preoccupied with their own problems at home and school and so do not take their society problems so seriously.
On the other hand, there are also a number of arguments for letting 18-year-olds to vote. Firstly, young people today are far better equipped to make a good decision in voting than the past generations of youth were. Modern youth are extremely well informed on all the crucial issues of our time, foreign and domestic, national and local, urban and rural due to the enormous impact of modern communications, especially television and internet. Secondly, 18-year-olds already have many rights and responsibilities in our society comparable to voting. For instance, they rely upon public services in the same way other people do – they use public transportation, some pay taxes, drive cars and so on.
To sum up, although some people and some psychologists think 18-year-olds aren’t mature enough to vote I believe there is no difference between 18 and 88 year-old voters. Furthermore, the maturity of 18 year-olds varies from person to person, just as it varies for all age groups in our population. Therefore, it only means that sometimes young people can make better decisions than adults can. In my opinion, both of them deserve the right to vote and by doing so to give their contribution to the society.
Lovro P.
Post je objavljen 12.06.2017. u 19:23 sati.