Too Young? We’ll take that as a challenge
"I'm concerned about his age.”
“[He’s] fresh out of high school.”
“He’s never even paid hydro bills.”
“[He’s] just old enough for a tipple at wineries.”
No doubt you’ve heard of the youngest MPP in Ontario history being voted in this November, Sam Oosterhoff. And no doubt you’ve heard the haters try to tap into the ageist fears of society in attempts to belittle Oosterhoff’s potential.
“Age is just a number” for liberal ideologues when it comes to lowering the age of consent for sex with minors, or teaching children how to masturbate in the classroom. However, when a young man is legally and honourably voted in to represent his riding by popular demand, he’s a child and has no idea what he’s doing. He can’t possibly know that hydro bills should be lowered because he’s never paid them! That’s like saying we can’t possibly know anything about the American election because we’re Canadian! (Admit it, each one of us has had an opinion on that subject.)
These days, society considers us youth as immature, underdeveloped, and too saturated in a virtual reality to be capable of responsibility. BUT WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?! We’ve been receiving certificates of participation for failing in school instead of being taught how to compete for a real prize. We’ve been taught that having sex at 13 is fine, but having kids at 25 is considered a little too young. The government will fund our abortions at any age without our parents knowing, but we’re still required to provide parental consent to acquire a vaccine. If we are incapable of responsibility today, it’s because we’ve not been given enough to practice with!
Despite the opposition’s attempts to paint Oosterhoff’s age as a bad thing and their ongoing condescending criticism of his values and religious beliefs, it sends a clear message of the caliber and type of youth pro-lifers are capable of being. Of course his opponents are worried about Sam’s age, none of their youth ever turned out this well rounded!
Let’s not be fooled into thinking that this young MPP’s age will result in failure defacto and that we should leave party politics to the big, scary adults. Further, we should take initiative to be the change we desire. If we’ve been wronged by our culture, we should make up what’s lacking in our formation. If we’ve been starved of instruction and opportunities for maturity, we should seek them out. If we’ve messed up in a major way, we should amend it and move forward. If we disagree with our leadership, we should replace them!!! We should not limit ourselves because others expect us to fail. Why should we let age stop us from doing what’s right? What’s needed? What’s desired? We know we are capable.
This year, over 100,000 children have been killed before their birth in Canada. If you see this as wrong, act on it. Being a youth can be a great advantage, or it can sometimes run us short, but it’s not an excuse to indulge in defeatism.