Thursday, June 01, 2006

Nuts to Drivers Licenses!

Today I read an article in Spacing (by Liz Worth) which discusses the allure of getting (and keeping) driver's license. It goes over the fact that when you turn 16 there is this imperative to get a driver's license because it represents freedom and independence, even if parking and getting around in downtown Toronto in a car is more difficult than taking the TTC. The author mentions that many people eventually come to the conclusion that the latter issues are too problematic, and start taking the TTC or biking again. The paragraph that got my attention:

"Now, driver's licenses sit expired in friends' wallets, and come out only for comic relief when they feel like showing off some bad pictures."

I was so happy to see this. I sometimes feel like a second class citizen because my license has been expired for many years now, so I can't really use it for identification. Because my passport is also expired at the moment, and I still have one of the old health cards (without the photo), I sometimes find myself unable to prove that I am who I say (and know) I am. Having an expired license also means the odd lecture from my parents about how I should "really take care of that", etc. Kudos to Spacing for legitimizing us folk who have deliberately let their licenses expire, and instead, can enjoy the streetscape on a much different (and, I would argue, more enjoyable) level than drivers.

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