Note: This is a blog I wrote for a debate in this blogging website called Helium. I thought that it was an interesting issue and I hope this sparks many kids on this site to realize the importance of politics in their future.

Should the government continue to allow children under the voting age to donate money to political candidates? 

Of course the government should continue to allow children under the voting age to donate money to political candidates. I've been avidly active in several campaigns (George W. Bush, George Allen, and Jerry Kilgore) and toiled through boiling hot summers delivering signs, accompanying the candidate to festivals, as well as handing out brochures. If the government allows kids like me to help the candidates in those aforementioned ways, then why can't we donate money, too? As a matter of fact, I donated over a hundred dollars to Bush, Allen, and Kilgore without my parents' help; it was my own money from my own savings. It was also a way for me to help the candidate that I believed would promote the betterment of our country most effectively.

In case you grown ups haven't noticed, the kids of America are the future of America. If you take away their "right" to free speech, that'll cause a major turn off for them to be able to get interested in politics and their citizenship duties when they turn 18. I'm sure y'all remember what it was like to be a kid: you want your voice to be heard amongst the sea of unyielding and scornful adults that think your ideas aren't good enough to be heard. Ergo, most kids don't even want anything to do with current events and what's happening in the world around them. Heck, even a friend of mine doesn't know about the War on Terror or what Al-Qaeda is.

The growing spread of ignorance in children due to exclusion in governmental, political, and civics matters is why the government should include the voices of children in anyway possible, so that their minds will be stimulated. Let me reiterate that WE are the FUTURE. It's only fair to let us participate in matters that will probably be a big part of our lives when we're legible to vote. Although minors aren't provided with full citizenship rights that this country offers yet, our parents are and I believe that it's up to them to decide what their children can or cannot do regarding free speech, religion, etc. My parents were fine with my endevours, and I'm sure that if the government takes away the right for children to abstain from the political scene (whether it be on issues of donating money) from the children and their parents, there will be a massive riot upon their hands.