Five chances. This new concept from the Washington State Legislature is worth exploring as a way to make society more humane and less stressful.

The 2006 Legislature decided to give high school students five chances to pass the WASL, a crucial test that, if they fail, could keep hundreds of school administrators from getting better jobs at the district down the road.

Proud of itself for the WASL approach, our Legislature then decided to give drunk drivers five chances before their ill-advised habit results in a felony charge. We wouldn’t want to seriously taint anyone’s criminal record on just four DWI convictions.

Of course, there have been critics of the new five-strikes-and-you’re-out approach to government. Why give a kid five chances to pass the WASL when, in the real world, one big failure can get you thrown onto the street? And why give drunks five chances to kill an innocent family driving down the road before facing a felony charge? Felons aren’t allowed to vote, which might drive many alcoholics toward sobriety. Imagine the pain of not being able to help decide whether the Democrat or Republican is worse in the next presidential election.

But critics are philosophically anchored in the old ways, when success meant success and failure was always an option. This is the new millennium, when we can’t risk hurting someone’s feelings through failure. So we give them five chances, and truth be told there are other options when your five chances run out. There are ways to avoid the WASL altogether, and lawyers for hire who can make that fifth DWI more elusive than Donald Rumsfeld at a press conference.

The Legislature should be commended for its modern approach to life, where one gets many chances to succeed. This concept should be expanded to include sports teams that compete in state-financed playpens like $600 million Safeco Field or $400 million Quest Field. Imagine how competitive the Mariners would be if they got five strikes before they were out. This is the advantage that could bring them back to the playoffs. Imagine Ichiro at the plate: Strike 1, 2, 3, 4, dribbler down the third base line, safe at first! He might bat .600 in 2006.

The Seahawks could go undefeated next year with five-downs-and-you’re-out. Imagine Matt Hasselback throwing to Darrell Jackson: Dropped pass, dropped, dropped, dropped, caught for a first down! This excitement could never happen with the present four-downs policy. The Super Bowl will be played out-of-state, so they’ll lose again.

Five chances to succeed might also make U.S. foreign policy more successful. Historians might say that efforts to conquer a Muslim country failed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, but we finally got it right in the United Arab Emirates where we took control of their port.

The Legislature did so well this session that we should give them four more tries before we throw them out.