Garrett+P’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech

You Can’t Fix Stupid I would like to take the next few minutes to talk to you about a subject that has been on my mind a lot recently, adulthood,but more specifically why a lot of people we call adults arent really deserving of that title. in about 6 months and a week from today i will be turning 18 years old. When I turn eighteen i will be able to do a lot of things, i could move out, if i move out ill have to pay taxes, I can vote for the next president of the united states,I could buy a gun, i can gamble, hell the government finds it perfectly acceptable for me to join the army, and perhaps the most scary one is, if i were to commit a crime, i wouldn't get a slap on a wrist and a ride home from a police officer, i would go to prison, not juvee but like “prison shiv” prison. And i often think to myself, wow. All of this responsibility, all of this power, but why was it given to me? I mean at this time in the world, age does not mean wisdom. To further prove this point i would like to talk to you about the day I lost almost lost all of my faith in america and just humanity in general.
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I was out in La with my parents and we were driving back, During the duration of most car rides i spend the majority of my time looking out the window because i get car sick when i look at a screen or try to read. Much to my surprise when i look out the window up comes a car, with a man who was bald looking around to his left and to his right paranoid through the roof. He looks to our car, he doesn't see me because my moms back windows are tinted, he then proceeds to pull up what is obviously a makeshift crackpipe, He then begins to smoke the crack for about 20 seconds, then proceeds to speed up to about ninety miles an hour and drive into the sunset to do whatever it is crack addicts do. Caught in disbelief i asked my friend if he just saw what i just saw, he looks up at me from his phone and says no. I hope im not the only one that finds it scary that the united states government finds it perfectly reasonable for someone like that to vote, and even purchase firearms, assuming hes never been caughtand processed for drug possesion.

Now this was the most extreme case i've had in my life when it comes to stupidity and lack of common sense in general, but i can’t help but cringe when someone in front of me at burger king tries to order a cheeseburger without cheese, believe it or not this was about a five minute ordeal for the lady working at the register to 1. figure out what in the hell he was asking and 2. have her explain that that's just a hamburger, the man then gave up and just told her to keep the cheese on it. Now Im not saying everyone in the world fails to realize the general concept of a cheeseburger.in fact I can safely say that for the most part i trust all of you, even though you're not eighteen,with the responsibilities of most adults,I also believe full heartedly you can make an educated informed vote, that's because your all adults, at least in my eyes. being an adult does not mean you're over eighteen, it means you're capable of basic reasoning, common sense, and the ability to do things on your own to survive.

To us, this sounds like something everybody has but you'd be surprise,from my experiences people are pretty stupid. And In the brilliant words of comedian ron white, which honestly I couldn't agree with more, “you can’t fix stupid”. It resonates with me so well because you can educate people, uneducated people are not stupid that is not the point I’m trying to make. I'm making a point that if you think taking a hit off of a crack pipe when you're driving down the freeway is the best possible thing for you to do, then you're stupid and I don't trust you with any of the responsibilities of adults. and If you don’t understand the concept of a cheeseburger, you shouldn’t vote for president.

I know this seems more like a rant about stupidity, but that's because when i see or hear things like this, im surprised thats some people manage to tie their shoes every morning without hurting themselves. Once again these cases are extreme, these are among the stupidest people i have met in my life, but i am trying to make the point that maturity and responsibility don't magically come down to you when you turn eighteen. common sense cannot be taught, and in all honesty there should be a test before you vote. There should be a test for you to own a firearm, and you should have take a basic budgeting class before you can buy or rent a home, they should be hard tests,not everybody should not be able to walk in and pass it on the first try. I would like to see the world this way because trust shouldn’t be handed to every joe shmo on the street, it needs to be earned. I have met nine year olds that can make a more informed vote than some thirty year olds i have met, and i have seen some twelve year olds i trust more with a firearm then some fifty year olds i know have firearms. I feel perfectly fine handing these children more responisiblity in the world.So why? why does the government give so much responsibility and trust to someone simply because there 18 why do we automatically give them the title of adult. An adult is a fully developed person, willing and able to give back to the world. This title isn't something you receive for your mere existence, this title is something you earn. In the America I want to live in I would like to see a place where adulthood isn't a matter of age, but responsibility, and maturity and isn’t handed out to every person.

When i see a dog sitting in a car alone on a hot day, I know owner of that dog is not an adult. When i hear someone bragging about how they got into a barfight when they were pissface drunk, I do not think of them as an adult. Some people will never be adults in my eyes, Some people were born adults, most overtime learn the responsibilities of an adult, but no single person is ever naturally entitled to the social status of an adult.
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