Voters of a Certain Age: Time to Pass the Torch?
If we cap the minimum, maybe it’s time we cap the maximum too.
I don’t know about you, but I woke up today feeling like I’d already run a marathon— It’s the kind of exhaustion that comes from realizing half our country seems just fine with a convicted felon and unapologetic bigot as our commander-in-chief. An 80-something-year-old guy, mind you, who collects lawsuits like it’s a competitive sport and treats facts like they’re optional. Are we in a bad reality show where the final challenge is “Let’s Pick the Worst Possible President?” Because we’re acing it.
I get it, people aren’t perfect. We’re selfish, often clueless, and generally terrible roommates to every other species on this planet. But I used to hold out hope that we’d one day snap out of it, have a collective “Wait, what are we doing?” moment, and get serious about fixing things. But no, we’re still choosing our leaders like they’re the punchline to some cosmic joke.
And here’s the kicker: to add insult to our collective injury, most of us spent 18 years waiting for the right to vote, only to end up in a system where our future is largely dictated by folks who have one foot in the grave and the other planted firmly in front of cable news. I mean, if we’re going to make young people wait until 18 because they’re supposedly too immature to make decisions, maybe it’s time to set an upper voting age as well. Because let’s be honest: some of these folks wouldn’t know a “fact” if it bit them during their 10th “Breaking News” segment of the day.
Today, though, could be one of those rare chances to reset. We actually have the option to look at where we are, admit we’ve gone a little too far with the whole “anyone can lead” thing, and demand something better. But ironically, the power to make these changes is mostly in the hands of people at the far ends of the age spectrum—half of whom are still in diapers and the other half who spend their days glued to cable news.
Which brings me to this question: if we’re going to keep kids from voting until they’re 18 because “they don’t know enough,” can we please set an upper voting limit for the same reason? Because some of the folks well past 75 are proving that age doesn’t always equal wisdom—it sometimes just means more time to get hypnotized by TV pundits screaming nonsense at you. They rail against kids watching cartoons, yet they’re the ones who can’t seem to tell fact from fiction. The difference? At least kids know cartoons aren’t real.
So here’s a thought: if ages 0 to 18 are too young to vote responsibly, let’s be honest—75 and up isn’t exactly nailing it either. One group’s still figuring out the difference between fantasy and reality, and the other? Well, they’re in their second childhood, but with a lot scarier programming.
Maybe it’s time to rethink who holds the keys to our future, because right now, we’re like passengers on a bus driven by people who either have no clue where they’re going—or worse, don’t care as long as they’re in the driver’s seat. And if little Johnny starts acting up, we put him in a timeout, right? Well, maybe it’s high time we do the same with the old dinosaurs running the show—give them a collective timeout and let the rest of us take the wheel before they drive us off a cliff.