Hitchens on teens

Peter Hitchens thinks that giving votes to 16 year olds is an attempt by the current government to rig the polls.

Giving votes to 16-year-olds is just another part of Labour's plan to turn this country into a permanent one-party state.
...
[D]oes anyone believe that most of them [16 year olds] have a clue about politics?

Modern society tends to patronise 'the young', who are said to be 'idealists' and ' openminded'. This is tripe.

Most teenagers are frightening conformists, slaves to fashions in clothes, music and ideas and terrified of standing out from any crowd.

Whatever I may think about allowing 16 year olds to vote (and currently I'm of the opinion that it is a bad idea) I can't agree with Hitchens sentiments regarding the conformist character of teens. Far from not wanting to stand out from the crowd I think the opposite may actually be true. Getting noticed is, I suspect, very high on a 16 year olds agenda and I think it is this desire that helps to fuel currently popular pass times such as celebrity worship. Programmes popular with teens, such as Pop Idol, Fame Academy etc are partly manifestations of their desire to stand out, to be special in some way and to be recognised for it.

Hitchens does teens down here. He may be right about their political awareness and their natural alignment with Labour 'thinking' but he is not right to call them frightening conformists.

Posted by JohnJo at December 18, 2003 02:01 PM | TrackBack