Why, Oh Why, Can't I?

With only two days to go until my 17th birthday, I am just over a year away from achieving enfranchisement. Voting, while a simple process, appears to be so beautiful. Simply knowing that your vote is part of the total that united together for the social democratic candidate seems unbelievable. Some countries though have taken the next step and lowered the voting age to 16.

Austria, Brazil, Nicaragua, and even Communist Cuba have lowered their voting ages to 16 years of age. They feel that at the age of sixteen, we are capable of making important decisions. They feel that we are in every way adults with the sole exception of voting, so why should we restrict that right?

At sixteen, you can drive, have to pay taxes, can leave school permanently, seek employment, and as much as my teachers hate to admit it, we have made important decisions that have drastically altered our future before, we can make them again. Besides, allowing sixteen year olds to vote would allow many parents to register their children before leaving the home. This could increase voter turnout among the younger demographics, which I think we can all agree would be fantastic for not only our generation, but society as a whole. Everyone needs to have a voice in politics, including us.

It comes back to that simple saying: no taxation without representation. The government takes my tax dollars to pave the roads I use, so why can't I choose who should determine how to spend those dollars? It's as simple as voting for a party that supports lowering the voting age (cough, NDP, cough) that could initiate change, and bring us to the forefront of progressive, 21st century policies, Canada has long been known for. So give us the right; we'll vote, join parties, let our issues be known, and if we're rebellious enough, we might even run for public office...