how young istoo young torun for office

by Dan Centinello

Have you everwondered why so manypoliticians are...shall wesay, advanced in age?

CandidateProfileIn Congress, the average age ofpoliticians in the House is 57 yearsold and 63 years old in the Senate.But last year, Huffington Posttracked down 13 state legislators whowere born in the nineties and arepresumably some of the youngestmembers of Congress.

The trend of older legislators is an understandablephenomenon, given society’s shared assumptionthat with age we gain maturity, wisdom, andexperience, all of which are virtues that we admirein a politician. Of course, though, theaccumulation of these virtues is not a guarantee—and that goes for anyone, no matter their age.

Political leadership is not—and should not be—just for octogenarians, septuagenarians, and themiddle-aged set. We’ve all heard the adages about“a child shall lead” or a young person “being wisebeyond her years,” so it stands to reason thatadvantages of youth could also benefit society.

There isvirtually nosuch thing asbeing “tooyoung” torun foroffice.

“The only qualifications you need to run for officeare being of legal voting age and a resident of thedistrict you are running in (unless, of course, youwant to run for Congress or for president; thereare, of course, different age requirements forthose offices,” writes Phil Van Treuren on his blogPolitical Campaigning Tips.

Writing for Odyssey, a content platform formillennials, 22-year-old Katie Smith argues thatthe generation has “the capabilities of leadership”to run for various political offices. But Smith alsodescribes the hesitation that some people her agemight feel about becoming vocal and active in thepolitical arena.

“When a twenty-somethingMillennial has a politicalopinion, no matter which party italigns with, it's common to getthe 'aw, isn't that cute?' responsefrom our older friends andfamily. We feel uncredited, as ifour thoughts are not goodenough.” -Katie Smith, writer for Odyssey

Perhaps it’s timefor a shift in ourperception ofhow capable andformidable ayoungerpolitician canreally be.

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