Saturday, August 14, 2004

Privileges

Has anyone thought about the way the government doles out its privileges?
  • Age 16: you can operate a car, the thing responsible for more deaths in this country than firearms, alcohol, and cigarettes
  • Age 17: pass
  • Age 18: you can vote for the leader of the free world, and die for him in the military
  • Age 19: you can buy cigarettes
  • Age 20: pass
  • Age 21: you can buy firearms and alcohol, both starting on the same day

That's six years and six privileges. I think they should make it one privilege per year, and perhaps rethink the order, especially allowing people to legally get drunk and buy a shotgun on the same day. Learn to use one responsibly before starting with the other, I say. I thought that it might be a good idea to let people choose their own order (you just know voting and joining the military are going to the bottom of most lists), but then I realized a group of friends could circumvent the whole situation. "Ok, guys, we're all turning sixteen this year. Bob, you get your license, Jim, you're on beer duty, and I'll get the shotguns."

Smarmy, out


3 comments:

Frogstar said...

In this state, it's...

16: Get your license and legally operate a car without a person over 20 with their license in the car with you. But you cannot drive with anyone in the car, outside of your immediate family. You also cannot drive between 12-5 AM.

16.5: You can drive with up to three people under the age of 20 not in your immediate family.

17: You can drive between midnight and five A.M. and drive with as many people as can legally fit in your car!

18: You can buy ciggies, legally vote, and buy scratch-its for the Oregon Lottery.

19: Skip

20: You can brag about how you are not a teenager anymore.

21: You can legally purchase alcohol and get wasted as long as you don't drive with a .08% blood level content; you can legally gamble in casinos.

It's a bit different here, as you can see. :D

Grant said...

At what age can I legally purchase a shotgun? I've considered moving to Portland, but I don't want to have to blow people away illegally.

Frogstar said...

I am pretty sure it's illegal to kill people here. But let me look up the stats.

Okay, it's at age 18 that you can legally own and operate a gun.