Dianne Feinstein, a California state senator, recently passed away at the age of 90 on Sept. 29, 2023. She was the first woman to be elected to the senate in 1992 and worked until she passed. She was the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, and on March 28, 2021, she became the longest-serving U.S. Senator from California ever.Feinstein advocated for gun control, abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights and other Liberal ideas. She was ahead of her time with her inclusive ideas and open mind. On the contrary, is 90 years old too old to have that amount of influence on our nation’s future?
Considering that over 71% of state legislators are men, and 81% are white, it is rare to have a senate support inclusive laws when there isn’t an inclusive jury. Of course, not all state officials have outdated opinions, but there is a strong correlation between the average age of state senators being 64 years old and conservative opinions
Because the average age for state legislators is around 64 years old, the majority of state officials were born in the late 1950s. Racism, sexism and homophobia were more common in the 20th century because of the overwhelming amount of republicanism. It would be wrong to assume that all elderly senators are racist, sexist, and homophobic, but taking into account that “Fewer than half of Republicans – 46% – think American culture and the nation’s way of life have changed for the better since the 1950s,” it isn’t out of the question to believe that most senators may have outdated political ideas.
Four out of five students and staff that were interviewed agreed that creating a maximum age limit for our country’s officials would help with the diversity problem in the legislative branch, and would prevent older legislators or senators from using their power to promote their outdated ideas.
Our English teacher here at CHS, Mrs. Hanks states, “Yes, I think some form of age limit should take place.”
It is important to have a diverse selection of people running this country so everyone’s interests can be represented. This includes people of different races, sexualities, religions, and genders. It is also key to have representatives that understand the need for diversity in every branch of government, and if that means creating a maximum age limit to discourage dated ideas that stem from decades ago from following through, then it should be considered.
To be a senator, you must be at least thirty years old. This is because you should be mature enough to make important decisions that impact millions of people, and you should be smart enough to know what you’re doing. In addition to this law, wouldn’t it make sense to include a maximum age limit as well to prevent obsolete opinions from resurfacing?We need to move forward as a nation, not backwards. However, if senior legislators and senators continue to pass subjective laws, we will continue to backtrack as a country.
