Prohibition failed before, will not work
In response to Robert Pfeil’s recent letter about prohibition, first, prohibition didn’t work when they tried it before, so why would it now? Second, there’s this thing called “The First Amendment.” Anyone who has ever read the founding documents can tell you that you can’t legislate from a religious standpoint. It says, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of any religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (I condensed the wording here, but the point remains). Believe in any deity you wish, even if you are a legislator, but passing laws based on one’s religious conviction is off limits. Ever hear of the “slippery slope?” You will create God in your image, and then you will impose what you want on others, and say, “It’s what God wants.”
I speak from experience. A one-time heavy problem drinker, I had numerous troubles stemming from the abuse of alcohol.
But it wasn’t the drink, it was the problems I was experiencing at the time that led to the abuse of drink, which led to other problems, like the chicken-and-egg syndrome.
When you speak of “victims of the abuse of booze,” you are, in a sense, blaming the common cold on sneezing, when, in fact, it’s the other way around.
The cart goes behind the horse, not in front. Abusive people are abusive, drunk or sober, and taking their beer away in the name of God only puts a Band-Aid on an amputation.
As well intended as it is, you are only hiding, or helping to hide, a serious character flaw. Yes, a 12-pack is not recommended before a drive, but in the “land of the free,” if you choose to drink yourself stupid in the privacy of your own home, I say go for it.
If this is a “sin,” per se, you will be punished by your sin, not for it. Give your wife a black eye and, drinking or not, you deserve to sit in jail for a while.
Abuse the body and you’ll pay the consequences, with cumulative health problems, social stigma, and probably incarceration. But this will be the bed you make, so now lie in it without crying.
As for lives, homes, communities, and jobs being destroyed, whatever happened to personal responsibility?
Go to work drunk and you’ll be fired. Come home drunk, and spend your hangover listening to an irate spouse. Keep going and you’ll wind up in divorce court.
“What are the churches doing about this horrific situation?” Good question. Another good question is, what can they do?
Yes, anything that distorts the mind is a drug, but ironically, this includes heavy-handed, religious thuggery. Be good to one another – isn’t that one of the main themes of the Gospel?
Jerry Hamric
Uniontown