It's because we used to draft 18 year olds to fight in the Vietnam war and they couldn't vote until 21 in many States at the time
Comment on Voting compulsory for 16 and 17-year-olds in Belgium, court rules
reddig33@lemmy.world 8 months agoMy feeling is if you’re judged old enough to vote, you’re old enough to drink, and you’re old enough to join the armed services, and be tried as an adult. If you’re not adult enough to do one of these things, why are you old enough to do the other(s)?
Uranium3006@kbin.social 8 months ago
bbuez@lemmy.world 8 months ago
And yet the US’s (typical) drinking age is 21, opposed to voting at 18, and driving at 16. Driving likely because its necessary for any sort of mobility, and drinking because we’ve deemed that some adults are too young to drink, but are old enough to own a firearm and be recruited to the military. Its arbitrary
reddig33@lemmy.world 8 months ago
True. And I think all of these things should be set to the same age limit in the US.