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Hell, no. I agree with the lament of all Armed Services members we've heard loud and clear since World War II: If I'm old enough to get killed fighting for my country, then I'm old enough to vote! This cry is just as relevant today as it was then, and any citizen fighting for his/her country should have all the privileges of citizenship, including the right to vote.

In my own case, when I was not quite age 20, I was way out in the Pacific war zone and a bunch of Japanese guys were trying to kill me. They had their reasons, because my ship was putting thousands of heavily-armed 18-year-old US Marines ashore to conquer their islands.

Of course, there are 18-year-olds who are too immature to know enough to make intelligent decisions in their voting. As for how intelligent those decisions can be, how many people were older than 18 when they made their decisions to vote for such winners as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton or either or both of the Bushes?

I believe most 18-year-olds, especially those in the Armed Forces, as well as those just emerging from responsible high schools and/or are in good colleges, are as highly qualified to vote as any adult. Seeing the latest polls, I would hope our youngest voters will be more intelligent than most other voters when they vote next year.

Consider the alternative. If we'd take away the right to vote from 18-year-olds in the next Presidential elections, we could face the horror of having the Clintons back in the White House and once again turning it into Trailer Trash HQ USA.

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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