With the midterm elections approaching, young people have seen a slew of voting campaigns targeted towards a younger age group, with celebrities starring in social media campaigns encouraging newly eligible young adults to head to the polls. The last two years have also seen a rise in involvement in political movements by young people, such as the March for Our Lives movement lead by newly graduated Parkland students who experienced the tragedy first hand. However, truly how qualified is this next generation to be, or even pick, America’s leaders? In the second edition of the Tea Shop Discussion, Siona Pathak moderates a discussion between Eva Mehta, Varun Shankar, and an anonymous writer as they attempt to answer the question, “To what extent should young people in high school and college be participating in politics today?”
EVA: I think because the internet is such a central thing and all, we should be educated and involved in political discussions and voting. Most people in our age group who want to engage in politics, we have the resources to be well-educated and understand what’s happening enough that we don’t sound stupid.
VARUN: The issues that are central to politics often affect us young people so why shouldn’t we be active?
EVA: I guess you’re right about a lot of current topics affecting them. They’re supposed to be preparing to enter the real world, so knowing about the economic/political/social situations and doing all they can to ensure their best futures is something they should absolutely do.
ANONYMOUS: I’m gonna go ahead and say that for a large part my answer is gonna be no. Being educated about issues? Perfectly fine, good on you! Debating issues? Okay, at least you’re learning and discussing! My main issue is when you start proselytizing your viewpoint as if it’s fact, and not understanding others. My biggest evidence is basically Cameron Kasky, co-founder of March for our Lives. Recently (end of September) he went onto a show with Ben Shapiro and basically talked about how he realized that other people have different views. This kid was in the national spotlight for weeks, everyone was listening to him, he was being rallied behind, and he actually changed legislation because he genuinely thought that people that were pro-gun just didn’t care when children died. He said that he’s going to get a concealed carry himself, which is basically a complete 180 from just a few months ago. The reason this happens is because our brains are literally NOT formed until we are 25; our prefrontal cortex, the part that regulates decision making is still developing, while our amygdala, the emotional part, is in full throttle. It’s genuinely hard to make actual, unbiased decisions at this age.
SIONA: Interesting that you bring up March for Our Lives. A lot of people have brought that up as of late as an example why the youth should not be leading political discussions. However, many say that these young kids have every right to take political charge and be activists like this because this issue has now impacted them personally. In fact, many young people feel like the issues of the day will impact them more directly than they will their parents.
ANONYMOUS: Yes, but they have to recognize that they literally don’t have the mental machinery to make those decisions responsibly. The legislation they’re campaigning for affects everyone and at that age, they can’t think that big. They aren’t just making laws for themselves, they’re changing it for everyone. However, they can only think about it emotionally, not logically.
EVA: But the people in charge have got to see some sense in what these young people are saying in order to make those changes.
ANONYMOUS: Do they really though?
EVA: However, I don’t really think young people should hold political office because of their undeveloped minds.
VARUN: Well here’s the thing Anon – we saw this in the Zuckerberg trial. The men in power know nothing about the real world.
ANONYMOUS: That’s a good point; the lawmakers didn’t even know much about the internet because they were all 80.
VARUN: Exactly. The average age of a member of the House of Representatives is 57. The Senate? 61. That’s ancient.
ANONYMOUS: But there’s got to be a middle ground between underdeveloped teen and old man.
VARUN: Sure, let’s get 20 year olds in Congress! Experience is great, but so is enthusiasm. We need people who care about politics, not people who have become jaded by it.
SIONA: Good point Varun, people feel like politicians today are severely out of touch.
ANONYMOUS: What a mess.
VARUN: It would only be a mess if it was any 20 year-old in Congress. You’re forgetting that these people are hand-picked by the American people to be in this position.
EVA: 20 year-olds picked by the people.
VARUN: And come on, can they be worse than Steve King? The guy’s an actual Nazi.
ANONYMOUS: I still think that regardless, having such young politicians is just asking for problems.
EVA: A lot of people voting in these young people are in their 30s; there’s your middle ground.
ANONYMOUS: No matter how mature a 20-year old is, his brain is still not mature.
EVA: But brain development varies- if someone can demonstrate they can control their emotions, I’d call them just as able as older people.
VARUN: Anon, answer this question. How old do you have to be to enlist in the military?
ANONYMOUS: 18.
VARUN: So if someone is old enough to shoot someone else in the head, to kill for their country, I think they should be allowed to be a part of politics.
ANONYMOUS: In the military, they’re looking for hot-headed young men who are forceful and passionate enough to travel thousands of miles to fight and potentially die in a foreign country.
VARUN: Then give me a smart, educated young person who can represent me and what I want. I mean, can you really say all 20 year olds are mentally undeveloped?
ANONYMOUS: We don’t legislate for exceptions.
VARUN: Senators and representatives are most definitely exceptions to the current population. In addition, look at the current politicians in office. Ted Cruz liked a tweet from a pornography account some time back. We can’t possibly get worse.
ANONYMOUS: You’re not grasping the extent of the immaturity of teenage brains. Here’s an article that gives a better idea of just how undeveloped they are in high school and college. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708
SIONA: Let’s switch gears for a second and introduce another interesting aspect of the debate. Will young people in office endanger the rights and privileges of middle aged and elderly citizens?
VARUN: Really, they actively wouldn’t. However, it’s important to note that younger citizens are here for longer, so legislation passed will have the greatest effect on them.
EVA: Right, but if you’re talking short-term, the interests of these groups are just so different that middle-aged and elderly citizens will feel cheated by many, if not all, of the laws passed. Indirectly, the elderly could end up getting the short end of the stick.
SIONA: The elderly are definitely known for passing short-term legislation in their own favor. I have a personal story about this. My elementary school in New Jersey never got a cafeteria because the elderly politicians in town would never approve a raise in the school budget. After all, it would raise their own and other elderly people’s taxes but not benefit them directly.
EVA: You have a point, Siona. That’s why a mix is necessary. That way you have people represented of all walks of life, from the extremes to Anon’s “middle ground”. With both the young and the elderly in politics, we have both a lower and upper extreme.
VARUN: The representation of America should definitely be a good representation of its actual population.
ANONYMOUS: Let’s look at the laws set in place for running for office. You have to be 35 to be a President or Vice President, 30 and over to be a Senator, and 25 and over to be a Representative. That’s literally law right there.
EVA: Why not have that 25 for Representatives be 20?
ANONYMOUS: Because 25 to 20 is a development difference similar to that between 16 and 13 year olds. Like the article says: “The changes that happen between 18 and 25 are a continuation of the process that starts around puberty, and 18 year olds are about halfway through that process. Their prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. That’s the part of the brain that helps you to inhibit impulses and to plan and organize your behavior to reach a goal.”
VARUN: Anon, that’s for average human beings. If you’re running for office, there’s a high chance you’re no average teenager.
ANONYMOUS: How can you be so sure?
VARUN: Well at the very least, if we’re expected to fight at 18 in a damn war, we can surely hold office.
EVA: Not all 25 year olds will have their prefrontal cortex fully developed yet, either. However, the ones voted in by the citizens of America based on merit and intellect surely do— or surely should.
At this point, those involved give their closing statements.
VARUN: The people in office right now are not a good representation of America’s adult population. They are woefully inadequate in issues that are going to define the next 30 to 40 years, especially the ones related to technology. Let’s get people in here who are smarter about the things that are going to matter in the future, as well as people who are going to make decisions in the best interests of those who are going to be here for the long run.
EVA: I think people who are younger have more relevant knowledge and ideas, but they’ll need people in the 28 – 33 year old sweet spot to keep things in check. It’s easier for things to get out of hand in terms of their brain and development, but they SHOULD be educated and mature enough to handle it.I mean there’ll be absolutely idiotic 20-year-olds, but we’ve already got absolutely idiotic 60-year-olds so the younger idiots shouldn’t have no chance at all.
ANONYMOUS: Overall, I still think that youth need to hold off on being politically active or running for office. It is a fact that the decision making center of their brain is not developed enough at that point, and that because of that they often make emotional, short sighted decisions. To say that we should make exceptions in the law that will only allow even MORE irresponsible people to run for office because ‘they have to be smart to win’ or ‘they can’t do worse’ is just unfounded.
That concludes our Tea Shop Debate! How do you feel about the active involvement of young people in political life? Voice your opinions down below!
November 6th is Election Day 2018! If you are old enough and registered to vote, make sure you head down to the polls and participate in democracy. If you can’t head to the polls, remember to turn in your absentee ballot via mail!
*Disclaimer: The side taken by debaters in this Tea Shop Discussion does not necessarily reflect their values or opinions in real life.
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