As the Declaration of Independence asserts, all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights. Some of these rights are political in nature, and paramount among them is the right to vote. The exercise to the fullest of this Right is the best tool to defend individual rights and to foster social progress.

The Constitution per se does not “give” or “create” rights. It merely recognizes their existence, explains them, regulates their exercise and so on. It would be absurd to think that African Americans were not men equal to all others before February 3, 1870 (XV Amendment), or that women were not human before August 18, 1920 (XIX Amendment). With those Amendments, the Constitution came to finally recognize, not to create, the right to vote of Blacks and of Women. Both groups undoubtedly were already among those “created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights…”

The disenfranchisement of minors by excluding them from participation in elections is tantamount to depriving them of “one of the most precious rights we have… preservative of all other rights.” All children, from 0 to 18 yrs of age, need the benefits that derive from exercising this right as much as, or more than, their older fellow citizens. As with all other rights they make use of as minors, they should be represented at the voting booth by their parents or whoever holds their legal guardianship.

What do you think? Let us know!