Playing with the Liquor Laws

It’s not an easy job being a politician. Hopefully, most of them have the good of the people at heart and really care about making a difference. Some may just ride the wave and pretend to do the part without a lot of effort, but even those who work diligently aren’t going to agree about which people to help.

For instance: it might help a thousand people in a town if a small factory opens up there. It will help the owners of the factory, too. It might not help the people who have counted on the stream next to that piece of land for providing their family’s water supply. It might not help the tourist trade when the scenic overview sports chimneys spouting smoke and steam. So it’s all a matter of perspective as our elected leaders make decisions.

Along these lines, a July 26, 2011 story out of Raleigh says that the North Carolina Legislature is thinking about letting some vendors sell alcohol earlier in the day. Currently people have to wait until 7 a.m. to buy their liquor. The new rules would allow them to open at 5 a.m. instead. On Sunday, people would be able to shop for liquor at 11 a.m. instead of waiting until noon. The Senate passed the measure voting 34-16.

They also discussed the idea of allowing small (under 2,000 people) performing arts centers to sell beer and wine without having to take the vote to the people. And the House is thinking about letting a liquor distributor open up shop on the Cherokee Indian reservation.

All of these ideas have been around and have been fought over for years. The naysayers try to limit when and where and how people can buy liquor in the hopes that it will cut back on the DUI’s and other problems caused by alcoholism. The proponents say that people are going to drink anyway, so we might as well get some of the money locally instead of the next door neighbors hoarding it all. Round and around it goes.

What if the only concern was the people themselves and the quality of life they will have with or without liquor? Would people still push for what they label “freedom” that is actually an addictive bondage?