On July 5, 1971, then-President Richard Nixon signed the 26th Amendment into law, officially lowering the voting age in all U.S. elections from 21 to 18. Finally, a movement that began in earnest after 18-year-olds not eligible to vote were drafted into service in World War II, then intensified with Korea and Vietnam, was constitutionally codified. No more would our young people be demanded to serve their country while at the same time denied the right to have a voice in its political process. If they were old enough to fight, they were old enough to vote, the logic went, and back then it was certainly hard to argue against it with either your head or your heart.
Now, if you’re like me and you don’t believe in a draft and you don’t think it’ll happen again anyway, you might have little issue with removing the right to vote from today’s 18-20-year-olds, who resemble the Greatest Generation only in the sense that they have the same chronological age and possibly some vaguely similar physical features as their forebears did - like young-looking noses and mouths and whatnot - when they stormed the beaches of Normandy in ‘44. Sadly, far too few of today’s young people resemble their predecessors in grit, sacrifice, courage, honor, or any other of the character traits that would typically define the torch-bearers of a great civilization.
Instead of fighting meaningful battles and solving real issues that affect the future of humanity, these perpetually masked ninnies are ‘fighting’ to mutilate and brainwash children, abort as many unborn babies as possible, disarm law-abiding citizens, mandate a useless mRNA jab against a virus variant that is no longer circulating, and force you to wear a moist, bacteria-laden piece of cloth over your face in public anytime there’s the slightest risk of someone getting the sniffles. In today’s world of abundance and governmental handouts, they clearly have entirely too much time on their hands.
No, it’s not everyone, and yes, there are shining exceptions. But it’s far too many, and it’s enough to make a grown man like myself reconsider why these ignorant simps, who have no knowledge of our history, traditions, values, culture, or why America was once the best place in the world to live, have the exact same vote as the American Legion guy with the Vietnam Veteran hat. It’s absolutely ridiculous, and yet it’s where a well-meaning Nixon and crew left us in the '70s when even he couldn’t have possibly predicted how bad things would end up.
As much as we can lament all that, there’s probably no fixing it. It’s nigh impossible to take away a right once lawfully given, especially one given via constitutional amendment. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a shot, even as an intellectual exercise, and I have a proposal that I believe deserves at least a discussion. At the very minimum, this proposal - and the leftist hysterics you know that would surround it if it ever gained steam - should provide plenty of insight into typical leftist hypocrisy on absolutely every issue.
My proposal: In exchange for the repeal of the 26th Amendment and the passage of a new one that would raise the voting age in ALL U.S. elections - local, state, and federal - to 21, conservatives should agree to raise the purchase age for ALL firearms to 21.
Now, mull on that and let it sink in. Maybe you’re a gun freedom absolutist and you believe 5-year-olds should be allowed to walk in a gun store and walk out with a Glock 18. If so, you probably look at this as an unacceptable curb on the Second Amendment, but that’s the point. We’re all giving up something. Obviously, as evidenced by my ridiculous example, there are already limits on what ages can purchase guns. With some state modifications, currently 18-year-olds can purchase shotguns and rifles but have to wait until they’re 21 to purchase handguns. This simply raises that long gun age to 21 where handguns are right now. And frankly, given the mental state of so many of today’s teenagers, it probably wouldn’t be an awful move. Which is, of course, why they shouldn’t be voting either.
If gun-grabbing leftists really cared about saving lives, this would be the perfect compromise solution. No, it wouldn’t stop most shootings, but it might stop some, and from the right’s perspective it would be a small price to pay for raising the voting age to something that approaches the point at which humans are capable of logical, rational thought. But of course, nothing like this would ever pass muster with the left. Because these ghouls have never cared about actually saving lives, which is why they’ve never backed solutions - like hardening schools or dealing with the mental health crisis - that would actually work.
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