At 16, Are You Qualified to Decide a Nation's Future? Germans Are Already Up in Arms About It.

Have you ever felt this way?

Adults are always discussing "big issues" at the dinner table—housing prices, policies, international relations. And you, as a young person, clearly have countless thoughts: anxiety about environmental issues, dissatisfaction with the education system... yet, as soon as you open your mouth, you're always met with, "You're still young, you don't understand."

It's as if an invisible line has been drawn, separating "adults" from "children." On one side of the line, you have no right to question; on the other, are the presumed decision-makers.

So, where exactly should this line be drawn? Is it at 18, 20, or... 16?

Recently, Germans have been fiercely debating this very issue: whether the voting age should be lowered from 18 to 16.

A Dispute Over the "Family Key"

We can imagine a country as a large family, and voting rights as a "family key."

In the past, this key was only held by the "parents" (older citizens). They decided everything in the house: the decorating style (urban planning), utility expenses (public budget), and even how low to set the air conditioning (environmental policy).

Meanwhile, the "children" of the house (the younger generation), though they also live here and will continue to for decades to come, don't have a key. They can only passively accept the parents' decisions.

But now, the "children" aren't having it anymore.

Global youth, exemplified by climate activist Greta Thunberg, have demonstrated through their actions how much they care about the future of their "home." They've taken to the streets, calling for attention to climate change—after all, if the "house" becomes increasingly hot in the future due to adults' decisions, those who will suffer the most are precisely those who will live in it the longest.

A 2019 survey showed that over 40% of young Germans are "very interested" in politics. They are no longer a politically apathetic generation.

So, some open-minded "parents" (like Germany's Green Party and Social Democratic Party) proposed: "How about we give 16-year-olds a copy of the key too? Since they care so much about this home, they should have a say."

This proposal immediately caused an uproar at the "family meeting."

Opposing "parents" were deeply concerned: "16? Have they really thought this through? Will they be easily misled? Will they just want to party (making irresponsible votes) and make a mess of the house?"

Does this sound familiar? This is precisely an upgraded version of "You're still young, you don't understand."

The Right to Decide the Future Has Never Been a Given

Interestingly, throughout history, the standard for "who is qualified to hold the key" has constantly changed.

In the 19th-century German Empire, only men over 25 had the right to vote, accounting for just 20% of the total population. Later, women also fought for and gained this right. Then, in 1970, the voting age was lowered from 20 to 18.

You see, so-called "maturity" has never been a fixed biological standard, but rather an evolving social consensus.

A scholar of democracy incisively pointed out: "The issue of voting rights is, at its core, a struggle for power."

Political parties supporting the lowering of the age naturally hope to win young people's votes. But the deeper meaning is that when a society begins to discuss "whether to grant 16-year-olds the right to vote," it is actually re-evaluating a more fundamental question:

Do we truly trust our next generation?

Rather Than Asking "Are You Ready?", Give Them Responsibility to Prepare Them

Let's return to the "family key" analogy.

What we fear is that 16-year-olds will abuse the key once they get it. But have we considered another possibility?

It's precisely because you give them the key that they begin to truly learn how to bear the responsibility of a "family member."

When they know their vote can influence the community's environment or school resources, they will be more motivated to understand these issues, to think, and to judge. Rights breed responsibility. Trust, in itself, is the best education.

Therefore, the core of the issue might not be whether "16-year-olds are mature enough," but whether "we are willing to help them become more mature by empowering them with rights."

This debate unfolding in Germany is, in fact, a challenge the whole world is facing. It concerns not just a single vote, but how we view the future and how we journey alongside the young people who will create that future.

And in this era of globalization, understanding voices from afar and participating in global discussions has become more important than ever. Fortunately, technology is breaking down barriers. For example, chat tools like Intent with built-in AI translation allow you to easily communicate with friends worldwide, whether discussing Germany's voting rights or sharing your views on the future.

After all, the future doesn't belong to just one country or one generation. When you can truly understand each other, this world truly becomes our shared home.