the true conservative:

[While I certainly have serious doubts about how appropriate this was for Slate to publish this I hardly think dismissing the judgment of all 17 year olds is fair or relevant. Absolutely they have a different perspective then they will in thirty years, but why is that a bad thing?]

It's not a bad thing to be immature and naive when you're immature and naive. It is a foolish thing, however, for those of us with a few more decades' worth of experience to be unduly concerned with their views on subjects best left to adults.

Do I care what a 17 year old thinks about the latest technology? Probably.

But politics? Not so much.

Wow. You wonder why kids can seem apathetic about politics. Who cares what they think? Do you feel the same about people who are 18? Amazing what a difference a year makes. But the opinions of young people should be discounted, of course. Everyone knows that young people should just keep quiet and let the adults handle things. Never mind that many, many issues affect young people. Who is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan? Young people. Young people are likely to have a better idea of the state of education than people who haven't set foot in a school in decades. Oh yeah, and you old people expect us to pay for your retirement and be happy about it, but any time we start speaking about political issues, we get shunted off to the kids table. Yeah, most kids are dumb, lazy, ill-informed, etc. But some of us are well-informed, do have well-reasoned opinions, and feel we have as much a right as anyone to express them. And many more would as well if given the respect that should be afforded every citizen of this country whose right it is to have their voices heard.