- LostinTime:
- I didn't say all materials were valid sources nor did I say all people weren't, as I'm aware it takes a person or more to produce a material.
And no, bias isn't inherently a bad thing, but voting for a candidate should be made by a person without inputs from someone who spews out great things about one and negative things about another. While yes, there are biases everywhere, materials in my opinion are easier to distinguish than people you see every day.
My argument is that, in my opinion, a typical sixteen year old is (or should be) at the age where they can perform the conscious act of researching for themselves and voting for a candidate using their own voice instead of anybody they're close to who could have intentionally influenced in a way that would make them voice their opinion instead, which I know some people like that are capable of doing. If they aren't able to then why would two years make a difference?
It seems you have this purified view of what voting is and who should vote and how they should do it.
My parents/family/friends will affect my political beliefs because we're likely the same race, same religion, same socioeconimic status, etc. In terms of political issues, we're affected by the same thing. For example, unions are a big deal in my family of carpenters and electricians. Thus, I am very pro-union. It's not that I've only been fed information about how good unions are and how bad anti-union politicians are, I've see how unions benefit the people I love and care about, and yes, they too have vocalized their support. At this point, you cannot distinguish between me voicing my own opinion and my family members voicing their opinions- we just have the same opinion due to shared experiences.
People don't vote because of research they do- they vote because of the life they live and the issues they experience first hand and the influences around them. I'm not saying this is the
best way to vote, but I don't think it's a bad way either. Your vote should reflect your life as a citizen, not an idealized political philosophy you spend hours in the library constructing.
You can't base the voting age off of ones ability to do research or the ability to rise above influence. Most people
can do that, but they don't (you have to remember a majority of Americans don't vote at all, even though they legally can). You can't force how you choose to form political opinions on the rest of the country as law- voting is an inalienable right, whether someone votes after months of researching candidates or by flipping a coin.