An interesting thought occurred to me while discussing politics with my eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son over the last few months. What would happen if there was no minimum voting age?

What if this country allowed all children (say, 1st grade or 7 years and older) to vote? Would that voting block change the results of a big election? Being that there are approximately 48 million children (ages 6-17) in this country and suppose just 25 percent, or 12 million, actually voted then that could certainly make an impact.

If they are old enough to read, if they can listen to a debate even for a short time then why not? Yes, this might be a silly notion, but just follow my crazy idea for a moment.

I think the ONE thing we can all agree on in the upcoming presidential election is it’s one of the most pivotal, important elections in generations due to the historical ramifications — the possibility of the first African-American president or the first woman vice president.

Our economy is a roller-coaster ride of uncertainty, our health-care system needs over-haul, our kids’ educators need higher pay, global warming is a real threat, our Social Security system needs to be saved for future generations, the war issue needs to be resolved and on and on. More than ever, the future leader of our country affects our youth. Yet, our youth isn’t able to vote because they need to be “mature enough to make an informed decision.” Bologna!

I think it is more apparent than ever before that there are many adults who aren’t mature enough — especially when you hear the racist, sexist, and just pure hateful comments that have been made.

So, for a moment think as a child or young adult does. Forget all the big policies the candidates keep arguing about. Forget Democrat or Republican. Forget Black or white. Forget male or female. Forget young or old. Forget the rhetoric. Forget the polls. Kids certainly do. They would look at the candidates like they look up to their favorite teachers, their inspirational coaches and the leaders they gravitate towards. Kids recognize at a very early age who is worth looking up to. You got to hand it to them — they are pretty intuitive.

As an example, my daughter has listened to many of the debates over the last six months. In fact, it was during the first debate (Q & A session by Pastor Rick Warren) back in August at The Saddleback Church, that after watching both presidential candidates answer all their questions, she spontaneously announced she had changed her vote. I am not going to reveal her particular choice because we would not want to jeopardize this publication’s goal of remaining objective in this electoral process, but I will say that her thoughts and insights were more perceptive than all those political experts on CNN, FOX, or MSN. She summed up that first debate by saying, “Obama speaks from the heart and McCain speaks from life.”

Yep, it’s a totally crazy idea, but then again these are crazy times so why not get the youth of this nation more involved? If anything, it might just make our kids smarter and more interested in the world around them and our country would very likely be better off.

You’re right, many kids would vote along with how their parents do, but then again that same influence is there for adults as well. How many adults vote for a certain candidate because their friends or family do? I think the major benefit would be that our youth would be more engaged about the political process because they would have a say. They could discuss what they liked or disliked about a candidate with their parents, teachers, and friends and then form their own opinions. Yes, they may not understand the inner-workings of economics or war, of taxes or our health care system, but they may be able to address many situations more objectively than any age group.

Who knows, they may just have the ability to pick the best person for the job!