Of course technically there is a voting age, nevertheless everyone is in the game, everyone has stakes in the game. It doesn't matter whether you voted for Mitt Romney or Barak Obama in the last presidential round, you still have one vote for president to cast in this round just like everyone else. That is, almost everyone of voting age, almost every adult citizen. You don't really need to know which end of the tennis racket is the handle. You don't need to know when or how or why to change the oil in your car. You need not know what marriage is supposed to mean or why. You really don't need to know anything. The game of politics is still for you.
A fascinating question probably for much longer than there are records is what the world would be like if children ran it. It's a great question for your after dinner conversations now, by the way.
It's a great question because there are obvious signs that voters are less mature than they were before. Far more people, well after they reach voting age, are still living in the care of their parents, in their parents' home. They might well be very intelligent and responsible adults. Living at home longer is actually a solution to several economic and social problems, but there are no obvious outward signs in many cases that they understand how that should work.
Furthermore, as noted many times here and as recently as this article, Mob Rule, voters have been making obviously wrong choices. This pronouncement will bewilder many since they have the attitude that whatever most people think must be "correct" by definition. They are not familiar with the expression argument ad populum or its implications. They believe there can be no "tyranny of the majority" in a country with three branches of government. It has escaped their attention that all branches might align with a tyrannical majority, and has several times now. How has it escaped their attention? It's because it is the majority.
At one time there was a check against tyrannical majorities. The Constitution of the United States set forth the very definition and purpose of government. It limited the role of government. No one could pass laws that favored government control of things not listed in its definition. That is obviously no longer true. Government can and will control every detail of our lives.
Another check on the tyranny of the majority, especially lately, is whether their demands stand the tests of verifiable fact, of science, of reason. A widespread assumption is that if they don't then they can't win elections or court decisions. The courts are supposed to be experts on "forensics" and on the "science" of government. The assumption is false. They are no experts on science like, for example, medicine. Health care reform is the most stunning example. There is no science to justify the exorbitant costs, yet it continues to win in the courts and halls of Congress.
Turn on the television or browse the internet and witness the immaturity of it all. This week Donald Trump was ridiculed for the infelicity of his comments on immigration. Of his numerous critics none seemed aware that rich businessmen actually benefit from the often inexpensive labor of immigrants, especially the illegal ones, and it is the poor in this country, jobs being in short supply lately, who might have more interest in securing the borders. Most of the political pundits on Sunday avoided that angle, deliberately or otherwise, except Peggy Noonan who let it slip, just before a commercial break that closed it down. The companies that broke their ties with Trump are not the type that especially hire illegal aliens. yet that question is likely.
The institution of slavery is dead. The confederate politicians and generals are long dead. Some symbols of oppression remain. The noose used by lynch mobs is a most offensive one. It was the subject of the song Strange Fruit made famous by singer Billie Holiday in 1939. The Confederate Flag is obviously associated with oppression too, but it was never the worst symbol of it. That is a finer point that will probably never be totally forgotten.
In the early days of radio and television, host Art Linkletter was especially famous for the entertaining commentary from children on his show, House Party. He wrote books that continued the tradition Kids Say the Darndest Things. The wonder hasn't ceased. There are bigger and older kids now, as well. He passed in 2010, but the children keep stealing the show.
It's been true for some time now; it's just more obvious in the political season, that children are running things. They are the majority. They have taken over the Constitution and taken over "science." They have great confidence in their "science" because it's certified by the highest authority they can understand, the majority.
No, they can't do much for themselves or by themselves. They depend on government for almost everything much as normal children some time ago depended on their parents. They don't understand much, but they don't have to really understand. Their loyalty to government is charming and would be more admirable if it weren't the only thing they have.
The United States has become a country that lives in its mother's basement and it thinks Hillary Clinton is its mother.
Although the children do rule, they are not aware how young, inexperienced and obviously mistaken they are. They believe they are the "adults" because it's so "adult" to support government and the military their way. Their faith in God is nothing at all compared to their faith in their government and their military. Faith in God, by their reckoning, is "just for children," and they would have you believe they are adults. Although they've trampled underfoot other checks on the tyranny of their majority, one remains. Science can explain many things. It could claim to have all the answers and many people would be fooled. There are limits to science though. There are things science cannot do for anyone no matter how loyal they are to the government. People still get old and die, perhaps surprisingly, much like the Bible said they would long before there were adequate records. Science has shortcomings. It's good to face them. It's a sign of maturity.