It's been a while since I've posted anything here. A long while. I know no one ever reads this, but that doesn't matter.
I turned 18 recently, and am thus able to vote, gamble, buy pornography, take possession of a trust account my grandmother started for me, among other things. I can't buy alcohol in Ontario (i can in Quebec and Alberta though), or cigarettes, or go to a casino. It doesn't really bother me, as I can't smoke, don't have any interest in gambling and rarely drink, it's much more the principle that upon hitting a certain age, you SUDDENLY have rights you didn't have before. Which makes little sense to me. So I have a new idea, which has garnered a lot of interest amongst people I have mentioned it to. Raise the age at which you can access these vices to something higher, like 21, even 23 or 25. Then add an exemption for anybody who has graduated high school. Upon achieving a high school diploma, or equivalency, one can vote, gamble, smoke, drink, etc. This provides an extra motivation to complete high school, and bases these rights on achievements, as opposed to something as random as age. Just a thought.
I've also finally found a place to live off campus. Residence is just too noisy, and I don't like living with a roommate, especially a prudish one. I like my privacy, and don't like having to go to the bathroom every time I want to get dressed. Besides, it just feels so much more mature.
It has been a long time! But anyways, I have a question that you probably know more so about than I do, but in terms of the smoking and drinking more so than the gambling and voting, wouldn't it be more likely the people who are dropping out of high school that care to and find ways of accessing drinks and smokes more so than those who aren't dropping out? I mean ya, people who aren't dropping out look for them too, but it wouldn't seem to be as high a percentage. As well, wouldn't this be difficult to enforce? It's not like people carry around their diploma with them, and there is no other way really of telling at the moment. And my other question is are you officially a high school graduate when your done your last exam and have passed your courses, or when you have your commencement?
ReplyDeleteI dunno, it's not a bad idea in theory, it does make sense to base it on achievement, but it would be a major pain for the government and alcohol distributors to moderate it would seem.
Wow Evan, that is a good idea. I've never really tried to think of an alternative way for that to work, but I have come across the ridiculousness of the system being age based. And I didn't bother to think about it quite as hard as Devon haha, but I guess there are some decent points his comment too.
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