I happen to live in a "dry" county. Yes, those relics of a barbaric past still exist in some places. And smug nannies (or should that be "ninnies"?), who apparently hate and distrust everyone else, believe that's the way it should be.
I just read a letter to the editor in the State Line Tribune (no website) where the person was saying that keeping the county "dry" is the right thing because of the "neglect, and destruction of families" and "drunk driving" that comes with alcohol abuse. Oh, and because of the "fact" that moderation "often fails".
Never mind that these things still happen, and are still blamed on alcohol, in this county which has been "dry" since it was established over 100 years ago.
He (they? the letter was signed as a couple) was also upset that Hollywood is destroying the morality of the country.
I can only speak for myself, but Hollywood doesn't dictate my morals- if it did I might be a murderous flag-sniffer, since there has always been a lot of that coming out of that industry. It's sad that some people think that "good" requires them to advocate violating the rights of others, and are so incredibly weak-willed that they can't keep their own houses in order if their neighbor lives differently.
And I'm not even a drinker. But in this era of fairly easy transportation (other than running the LEO gauntlet), if I want alcohol, I can drive 5 minutes (or less) and be in another county (another state, in fact) and buy alcohol there, so the belief that a "dry" county keeps alcohol out of the system of its residents is a delusion. Or would be if they actually believed it. But they know it's a lie. It just makes them happy to be "moral" by telling others what they are allowed to do- I suspect it makes them feel superior in some way. The truth is, they just want to dictate to others. They are bad people, regardless of whether or not they are "nice".
Yeah, it makes me mad that people like that don't get shouted down, shamed and exposed, for what they advocate.
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There are those who want to be left alone, and those who just won't leave them alone!"
ReplyDeleteI can't find the quote right now. "And while people are trying to do their poor best against the barriers erected by the bureaucrats, the bureaucrats continue to try to thwart them."
ReplyDeleteOh, and of course:
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
― C.S. Lewis