Problem: Years ago, U.S. citizens had to be at least 21 years old in order to vote. In the 1960s, when 18-year-olds were being drafted for military service in Vietnam, Congress debated whether they should also get to vote. Senator Edward M. Kennedy spoke to a Senate committee in favor of the change. Here is part of his argument:
Many experts believe that today's 18-year-old is at least the equal, physically and mentally, of a 21-year-old of his father's generation, or a 25-year-old of his grandfather's generation.
The contrast is clear in the case of education. Because of the enormous impact of modern communications, especially television, our youth are extremely well-informed on all the crucial issues of our time, foreign and domestic, national and local, urban and rural.
Today's 18-year-olds, for example, have unparalleled opportunities for education at the high school level. Our 19- and 20-year-olds have significant university experience, in addition to their high school training. Indeed, in many cases, 18- to 21-year-olds already possess a better education than a large proportion of adults among our general electorate. And, they also possess a far better education than the vast majority of the electorate in all previous periods of our history.
Write a newspaper editorial about Senator Kennedy's testimony. Your editorial should address these topics:
- The role of voting in the U.S. political system
- The relationship of the media to the changes described
- The function of education as a social institution
- The likely effect of such a change on public policy