Legal Voting Age

[Tsuki]

I say as I think and I do as I say.

Everyone has a right to their own thoughts and opinions without being insulted

No, they don't.

Wow. I'm no longer going to discuss this.

[Regulus]

Some of the other mods may think differently, but:

1. Woeler has not insulted anyone in this topic, nor has he tried to do so. This is purely a logical argument regarding democratic beliefs. As he specifically stated, you have the right to your own opinion, and he has the right to defend his.

2. This is the world issues subforum. Arguments are permitted here, as long as it remains civil. As long as the rules aren't being broken, it's fine.

If this escalates into an argument containing insults, I will lock this thread. But that's not what this is.

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Now, with that in mind:

My take is that if you're old enough to serve your country. You are old enough to vote. So it should remain the same.

As much as I would support the idea of a diplomademocracy in a revamped country, I have to admit that this is a pretty good point, actually. It would be rather unreasonable to have to sign up for selective services in a country in which you cannot vote. Ideally, we wouldn't have such a military to begin with, but it does demonstrate the moral infeasibility of such a concept, on a level that I had not originally considered.

On a similar note, providing free education to everyone and enticing the population to use it with the diplomademocracy idea would probably end badly. On economical grounds, and as a civilization as a whole, we still need uneducated people to work the dirty, blue-collar jobs that no one else is willing to do. Maybe sometime in the near future it could work, once such jobs can be performed autonomously, by machines. But until that day, the system just can't work.

I originally promoted the idea because it would encourage people to get an education, who would not normally do so--which should be humanity's main focus for this century, in my opinion. But the problem with that is simple: we still need uneducated workers in society. Likewise, it is also unethical to deny the uneducated of the right to vote, even though it may lead to a desirable outcome for the greater good.

[KingKivuli]

OK i am locking this topic it has gotten to far out of hand. It was a simple honest question turned unto a full blown debate which has resulted in a member getting upset