Does age matter in politics anymore?
- Thread starter Lark
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Your question makes me wonder whether the real question is "should age matter, not if it does?" I ask this because even if there are age requirements for certain positions, arguments regarding age default to ageist stereotypes about what a person can or can't do well. People associate age with inexperience or being well seasoned, or past their expiration. Maybe what we associate with age should really focus on experience, knowledge, accomplishments, etc. Do you have a specific case or example in mind when you thought about this topic?
Well, in response to [MENTION=1669]pics[/MENTION] insightful comments, I would say age shouldn't preclude anyone from doing something they really want to do. It's true that modern medicine is allowing older and older people to stay active and involved, often putting younger people to shame. And perhaps an argument can be made that with the interconnectedness of social media and access to knowledge that young people are nowhere near as inexperienced or without knowledge as kids probably were in the past, some of them making coherent arguments and amazing insights putting adults to shame. So, anyone who says there should be a strict age limit on politics should probably think twice.
But that wasn't really the question. It was: does age matter in candidates seeking election? And the answer is clearly yes. But that's only because, unfortunately, we've seen all sorts of a candidate's makeup brought out by competitors for political positions. If they boldly use race, sex, sexual preference, mental illness, and social/economic class to push their candidacy, then of course age is a potential aspect for muckrakers to use, either subtly or overtly.
But that wasn't really the question. It was: does age matter in candidates seeking election? And the answer is clearly yes. But that's only because, unfortunately, we've seen all sorts of a candidate's makeup brought out by competitors for political positions. If they boldly use race, sex, sexual preference, mental illness, and social/economic class to push their candidacy, then of course age is a potential aspect for muckrakers to use, either subtly or overtly.
I think that at least here in America the last 8 years have shown nothing matters. Not age, not competence, not common sense etc...
You get elected alone on how you project yourself and how people feel about you. You dont have to have any substance. We are a national of reality show watchers. We are doomed.
You get elected alone on how you project yourself and how people feel about you. You dont have to have any substance. We are a national of reality show watchers. We are doomed.
Yes in US Presidential Elections it matters in the modern era(1992 Presidential Election) and up. Ever since the "Cold War" ended the younger candidate has won every single US Presidential Election except for the 2000 Presidential Election in which Bush W. and Gore were the same age. In Congressional Elections(US Senate and US House) maybe not so much does age factor in.
Sorry to state the obvious, but that depends on what you think the significance of that question is. Everything has an effect in the real world of course, but everything is also connected. One could say that in theory it was never age that mattered, but rather the implications behind age.