So Wait, When do I Really get to Decide how to Live?
I am 18. Tomorrow morning, if I so chose, I could get into my truck drive to the nearest gun store, and purchase any of a variety of guns available. I might have to wait a little while as they run a background check on me but nothing would come up and eventually I would be the proud new owner of a firearm. With that firearm, there are various things I could do both legal and illegal. I could, this is merely hypothetical, go out and shoot someone or even multiple people. On a much smaller scale, simple misuse of the gun, such as not checking to see that it is empty before cleaning, could lead to me drastically shortening my life. Nothing in the many laws of this nation could prevent any of these things from occurring. All that stops me is the fact that I see no need to own a gun at the moment, have morals that stand against murder, and possess a certain aversion to splattering my brains on the wall.
What I cannot do tomorrow morning, is buy a case of beer. Or liquor or anything else alcoholic. Apparently, the government feels that I am not yet responsible enough to decide whether or not to consume alcohol and in what amount. They feel that it is too great of a decision for someone of my age and with my lack of experience to make.
Alcohol is certainly dangerous and many people have found ways, both commonplace and quite creative, to harm or kill themselves under the influence of alcohol. If I did acquire alcohol, it would certainly be possible for me to drink it until my heart stopped and my existence came to an abrupt and inebriated end. My argument is certainly not that alcohol poses no danger. It is simply that with almost everything else that can harm us, the government has chosen to allow at some age, each individual to choose how much risk he or she will take. Automobiles are extremely dangerous but at 16 the governments of most states have decided that a person is qualified to decide whether or not to get behind the wheel and how much risk they will take. Sky-diving carries with it a great risk of making a remarkably nauseating mess but at 18 an individual is apparently responsible enough to decide whether or not to take the leap. Getting on an airplane, flying to a foreign country, picking up a gun, and going off to fight people whose only aim is to end my life as swiftly as possible seems to me a rather dangerous endeavor but according to those in power, I, at 18, am perfectly capable of signing up and going to war.
In light of all these risks I could be taking but choose not to, it seems rather ridiculous that I can't purchase a bottle of vodka. Sure I could hurt myself with it but with so many other and more flashy ways of killing myself readily available, why would I choose to drink myself to death?
