Last week, the New York Times posted two stories I think are interesting enough to share with you.
The first: You’re 16, You’re Beautiful and You’re a Voter is about the enfranchisement of teenagers. The basic gist is that teenagers do better when their rights and privileges are gained slowly over time. This has, for example, well with drivers’ licenses in many places. The author is suggesting we do something similar with other rights, primarily with voting. Those younger than 18 would be able to gain the right to vote by completing a course in civics – while maintaining the principle that anyone older than 18 could vote. I like the idea. I like stair-stepping rights and privileges, and I like the idea of enfranchising young people earlier, as they show they are ready and able.
The second: The Vanishing Point is about a recent trend – say the last 5 years? – in male models going from a grown 6 foot man packing some good muscles to a relative waif with absolutely no fat and essentially no body tone. These male models now look far more like their female counterparts – they look like a thin veneer of skin hanging on a bone frame. These male models are now starving themselves, actively loosing muscle, in the same way that female models have done for many years. I find the perspective in the article repugnant – that male models are just going where female models have been for some time now (to the androgynous rail) and that there’s just not much to be done about it.
I really like this enfranchisement of teens thing when it comes to politics. I think if you’ve voluntarily taken a course in civics and you want to vote, you should be able to.
I turned 18 in May 2000. I was old enough to vote in the main election (and did!) but I hadn’t turned 18 by the primary (I missed it by 2 weeks). I was so upset. I think if you’re old enough to vote in a main election, you should be allowed to vote in the primary for said election.