A Discussion With Bilal Sekou
How Can Non-Voters Be Politically Active?
On September 20, Bilal Sekou, a professor from the University of Hartford, came by to speak with us about how we can be politically active despite our inability to vote. We discussed a wide range of topics including age caps in government, issues in our government, and more. However, we mainly focused on whether voting rights should be extended to 16-year-olds.
Below is my reflection on our discussion!
Reflection
I have given a lot of thought to what we discussed with Mr. Sekou, especially regarding our thoughts about extending voting rights to 16-year-olds. Before I touch on this specifically, I want to preface by expressing my annoyance when it is said that minors who cannot vote still have as much power as those who can. While, yes, we have voices and the immense power those voices give us, the ultimate power of a democratic citizen is the ability to vote. It is incredibly frustrating to watch your world change right in front of you with no true say in said change. Because of this frustration, my initial response to this is “Yes! I would love to vote and have a say in what happens in my country!”. However, I feel like it is easy to feel the adrenaline rush of the idea and stand up declaring your “readiness” for this responsibility but is that readiness pure or is it just a built-up amount of frustration? Am I truly ready to play an essential role in my society? I mean, I don’t even drive, I began working a few months ago, therefore, I just began my civil duty of paying taxes, and I cannot even get a tattoo or piercing without parental consent. This list can go on and on with reasons why there are times when I do not feel qualified enough to do this.
However, despite my personal doubts, my desire to participate and have an effect on my country’s future outweighs this all. There are laws directly affecting people my age, and we have no say in what happens. For example, this year there has been widespread anxiety relating to the softening of child labor laws by certain states. That is something that may not directly affect me since, thankfully, Connecticut is not one of these states, but it is something I wish those affected could have a voice in. Lowering the voting age to 16 would give millions of minors the ability to make their voices heard in the most important way a democratic citizen can.