This is in response to Frank Borkenhagen’s apparent plea for maturity in the voting booth (April 4, letters to the editor).
Politics is a funny business, maturity has nothing to do with any of it. What is the definition of maturity anyway? It has nothing to do with a particular job, taxes, responsibility, or lack thereof.
I imagine there are as many mature 16-year-olds as there are immature adults. It appears the teenagers in Florida gained a lot of maturity, having been shot at. They’re now very vocally advocating for gun control.
We are a country where we can vote (or not) for whom we like, even vote in error, without fear of undue reprisal. A word of caution for any politician biting their nails at the idea of a lowered voting age: Don’t be condescending. They won’t like it, just like adults.
I have a distinct memory of what my mom said to me. I didn’t want to vote – why would I vote? Her reply was, “You get to tell very important people, who have an effect on your life, what you think of them.” That’s as good a reason to vote as any.
It sounds like that’s what these teenagers are asking for.
K. Seaman
Saanich