I listened to this story yesterday on Marketplace. Georgia is one of the few states that has leftover prohibition laws on buying alcohol on Sundays. The governor is against repealing the law saying that: "Six days is plenty to gather up. We've got refrigerators. You've got different places to store. I think we need a little relief on Sunday." Another Georgia citizen says that repealing the law is further chipping away at the sabbath.
I'm sorry-- actually no I'm not-- but this drives me bonkers. Firstly, Sunday IS NOT the sabbath!! To make one specific day of the week THE sabbath misses the point of the sabbath! But unfortunately missing the point is nothing new to many Christians in America. There's nothing magical about Sunday, yet in the minds of many there is. This is nothing more than superstition and it has nothing to do with Christianity or Jesus or God. And if Sunday is sacred to these people then fine, but don't enforce laws on the rest of the citizenry to abide by certain restrictions on YOUR special day! American IS NOT a Christians nation!
Secondly, I would argue, that the tremendous stigma that so many people, Christians or not, place on alcohol is part of the reason it's abused. Alcohol IS NOT evil, it's ABUSE is! And the more you tell kids, "no, no, no you can't drink till this specific age" the more kids are going to want to drink. And thanks to this law, the age of 21 is the sacred day when the birthday boy or girl goes out with the intent on getting as shit-faced as humanly possible! Quit putting alcohol on this pedestal and maybe, just maybe we might see less abuse. Parents should model responsible drinking habits for kids. And maybe if we were more like Europe in this area, and kids started drinking when they were 12, it would be no big deal and wouldn't lead to abuse.
10 comments:
Ok, I'm always for smaller government so I'm with you there. I do have a little push back on your argument about abuse being tied to a law. You seem to be arguing that if we made our law more like Europe's there wouldn't be abuse (or as much of it. Do you have any evidence for this? Almost everyone I know who lives or has lived over there would say the abuse problem is about equal. Perhaps, for some parents "modeling responsible drinking habits" is not drinking at all.
There is definitely data to support the idea that parents who don't drink at all have children who are less likely to drink. (Lexus Nexus)
Just my 2 cents.
Ok, the U.S. drinking laws vs. Europe and it's impact on alcohol abuse I got from a textbook I read last year. I also work with people who lived there and agree with my textbook. But apparently there was a study done not too long ago that showed the U.S. was better than some European countries, and the same and worse than others.
I'm simply saying that our problem with alcohol stems from how our culture abuses it which stems from stigma and/or a positive/ celebratory posture surrounding getting drunk.
This may be where we disagree fundamentally, I don't know. I think we as a culture abuse alcohol because almost all of us are hurting, tore up, broken people and alcohol numbs that pain. Most people are seeking answers and healing, and until they can get that they will settle for numbness.
I think that's why prohibition will never work. I think that's why if we did away with alcohol laws altogether we'd still have abuse.
These people that want to make these laws miss that point.
Getting drunk together on a 21st birthday provides a pseudo-community; much like Sr.Trips and other manufactured watershed moments. I don't want to hijack this thread but that's my thoughts on why we have abuse of these types of things.
i don't think we disagree. no where have i said that stigma/glorification of drunkeness is THE cause of alcohol abuse. i just said it's "part of the reason." i don't disagree with anything you said. i think you're simply coming at it from a more theological bent. i'm examining how our culture views alcohol via the story from marketplace and how i think that it plays into alcohol abuse.
and i also don't think that repealing drinking laws would eliminate the problems either. but i do think that reforming them, along with a change in how our culture views intoxication might help.
ah, i see what you were pushing back on now:
"our problem with alcohol stems from how our culture abuses it which stems from stigma and/or a positive/ celebratory posture surrounding getting drunk."
yeah, sorry, i wouldn't say that abuse ONLY stems from those things, but i think they play a role.
A few thoughts...
Georgia is free to pass whatever laws the citizens who live in Georgia wish to live under... so not really a big deal for me since I live in Ohio.
As far as the American stigma on alcohol is concerned, I think it is well deserved and should be increased, not decreased. Let's not forget the toll in lives this socially accepted drug costs... Car accidents alone equate to about 3/4 of the Vietnam war per year in casualties... I think around 40,000 per year is our average. That doesn't count health deaths...
So I say, the stima is a good thing. And less drinking is a good thing.
But hey, I am a fuddy duddy T-totaler so feel free to dismiss my old-fashionedness!
heath,
so we should put stigma on something good that God has made rather than on it's abuse?
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/10/30/heart.overview/index.html
heart disease is the number one killer in america.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol/SC00024
moderate drinking can help prevent heart disease, mi's and strokes.
pizza is loaded with calories, cholesterol and saturated fat which cause obesity and heart disease. dying of heart disease might not be as dramatic as a car accident-- although dying of a massive heart attack could be-- but more people die from eating poorly than die from drunk driving. so maybe stigma really belongs on the pizza parlors and the fast food industry.
The benefits you mention can also be gained from eating fruit, particuarly berries, according to sciencedaily.com. The benefit is not found in the fermentation but in polyphenols which are anti-oxidents which prevent plaque build-up.
Also, your comparison to eating pizza is flawed. Eating pizza affects the health of the individual choosing the behavior. Driving while intoxicated kills innocent people.
Here is the deal: I am not trying to convince you not to drink. I am merely arguing that the cost of alcohol on our society in lives, poverty, and healthcare due to the effects of alcohol far outweigh any usefulness the drug might have. I do not think that drinking alcohol is a "sin." It is just something that is serves no real benefit.
ok, this is getting off topic, but first, go here: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/562474_print . read the abstract: "The ethanol itself, rather than specific components of various alcoholic beverages, appears to be the major factor in conferring health benefits."
that said, all the problems you named are from alcohol abuse not alcohol itself which goes back to my original point. stigma does nothing but create confusion, unwarranted guilt and complicate the problem.
I disagree with "unwarrented" guilt... But hey, to each his own. I am quite happy with the stigma and I hope to pass it on to my dogs... (i have no kids)... :)
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