I had an epiphany of sorts the other day as I was reading
some online articles and accounts of how much misery is caused by the abuse and
misuse of alcohol, not just in this country, but world-wide. Addiction and
substance abuse is the most equal-opportunity scourge imaginable, except of
course for another terrible scourge that is just as prevalent in almost every
known society- violence. So bear with me and keep your mind open as I give my
thoughts on some very controversial, but important issues we face as a nation.
I promise you, whether anyone chooses to acknowledge or
accept it- the fact of the matter is that alcohol has caused as many, if not
more, injury and death to civilians than guns have.
Alcohol use, or overuse, has become the untouchable topic.
Why? Because the vast majority of people in the country support its legality
and personally use it. That fact doesn't change some alarming and disturbing
facts and statistics.
Consider the number of deaths or injury caused by
alcohol-related:
Sicknesses
Suicides
Violence
Driving under the influence of alcohol
Domestic violence against adults and children
Destruction of property
Choices that ruin lives related to marriages, family relationships,
financial ruin, incarceration, loss of employment
They tried banning alcohol from 1919-1933. We all know how “well”
that experiment in trying to legislate a basic “right” and freedom of choice turned
out. Not so much. I am not a constitutional or political science expert, so I
will let Wikipedia give a simple and succinct explanation of the 18th
Amendment.
The
Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution had ushered in a period of time known
as "Prohibition", during which the manufacture, distribution, and
sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal. Passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in
1919 was the crowning achievement of the temperance
movement, but it soon proved highly unpopular. Crime rates soared
under Prohibition as gangsters, such as Chicago's Al Capone, became rich from
a profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol.
The
federal government was incapable of stemming the tide: enforcement of the Volstead Act proved to be a nearly impossible task and corruption was rife
among law enforcement agencies. - Wikipedia
It makes one wonder if it is worth it! After all is said
and done, what BENEFIT does alcohol bring to society? For most people, it is
used as a means to relax, a social “lubricant” and a means to let loose. Many
people are able to manage their alcohol use and won’t experience any of the
negative or harmful aspects of it.
The recent acts of killing and mass murder of innocent
people with gun violence have presented us with some hard questions and no easy
answers. The major problems in this debate surround the notion of giving up
clearly established rights, guaranteed, once again, by the Constitution. Obviously,
there is far more to it than many people realize.
In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two landmark decisions officially establishing this
interpretation. In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S.
570 (2008), the Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's
right to possess a firearm, unconnected to service in a militia and to use that arm for traditionally
lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home within many longstanding
prohibitions and restrictions on firearms possession listed by the Court as
being consistent with the Second Amendment.
In McDonald
v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025 (2010), the Court ruled that the
Second Amendment limits state and local governments to the same extent that it
limits the federal government.
The idea of stripping the rights of law
abiding, mentally stable, citizens is severe and arguably, unconstitutional; as
the 18th Amendment was found to be in 1933 by the Twenty-first
Amendment. The problem is when government seeks to prohibit the rights of those
who have not broken the law, whether it is refusing EVERYONE the right to
drink, or to own a gun. Why should someone who is a responsible citizen be
deprived of their rights, whether it is to drink alcohol or own a gun, just
because there are individuals among us who abuse the law? Why should a
responsible citizen be penalized for what could or might happen?
As far as rights and personal responsibility,
we have decided that people have the right to buy and consume alcoholic
beverages, with restrictions surrounding age and regulations related to
performing certain activities while under the influence.
We need to delve into the reasons WHY
we need regulation and restrictions. Personal responsibility for one’s actions
is everyone’s concern. There are expectations of how to act and behave within
the norms and rules of society. Those do change, as we have seen many, many,
times through our nation’s history. Societal norms do change and with them our
laws have been adjusted and amended. Some will agree with those changes, others
will not. But before any rights are removed or greatly modified, it is critical
to be sure that we are not depriving the law-abiding and responsible citizens
due to the acts and actions of those who are outside the bounds of the law.
Criminals will always do whatever they
need to in order to commit crimes. Think about how many people now get DWIs a year
and then think about how much less that would be if alcohol were illegal.
Believe me, there still would be DWIs, but if alcohol was an illegal substance,
and not as close as the local store, of course there would be would be less
deaths from drunk drivers.
Using legal “things” in illegal ways or
abusing the rights of others is the cause of most of the misery in the world. It
is frustrating because human beings behave irrationally and selfishly and don’t
always have respect for the rights, property, or personal worth of others.
There is no way in the world to legislate attitudes, only actions.
So we have to honestly decide what is
the value and purpose of our laws? Are they to protect our freedoms while keeping
order, or save lives and keep innocent people safe? All of the above, right?
Not so easy, though. There are times when protecting freedom puts people at
risk, because personal responsibility and choices are part of our freedom. At its
basest point comes the realization that in a free society, people have the
freedom to choose to do the wrong thing. They will have to be punished for
their crime, but in the meantime, innocent people may have been killed or
harmed. This happens EVERY SINGLE DAY on some level, be it as banal as someone
cutting you off in traffic, or as sinister as being sexually assaulted by a
co-worker.
Freedoms cause risk. You have the
freedom to drive, work outside the home, and drink alcohol. Those rights are
part of what makes our society what it is. Sadly, there are people within our
society who chose not to adhere to those rules and laws, and they mess it up
for the rest of us who are trying to live our lives in pursuit of our own
happiness and fulfillment. You can’t change people or make them “act right” by
taking away the rights of everyone. Criminals will still commit crimes, or do
the wrong thing.
Taking away rights rarely works out
well. The black market or underground economy will never go away. Criminals
always find work-arounds, as they did during prohibition, as they do today with
illegal buying and selling of firearms. Personally, I wish for a world that had
no violence, alcohol abuse and misuse, or a number of other evils. That isn't realistic or probable.
The misuse of guns, as well as
booze, causes more misery and tragedy than most other things I can think of. I think most
level-headed people acknowledge that there must be regulation and oversight by
government for gun, as well as alcohol. Those specific details and nuances are
for the American people, through their elected officials, to decide. That is
how our country works and while there are always going to be those groups and
individuals who are unhappy with the outcomes and decision; it is how our
democracy works, and there are no easy solutions or answers.
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