0705 Alcohol by Decree and Example
0705 Alcohol by Decree and Example
April was alcohol awareness month. It is ironic because only the month before, Holland put the finishing touches on alcoholizing the city on Sundays.
The most notable ingredient missing in the final product was voter participation. Such was also the case in earlier gateway changes when establishing beer tents and brewing permits. It would seem that even though both Holland and Ottawa county residents have never allowed an alcohol-on-Sunday proposal to pass and have been very conservative about other alcohol changes, they could not muster the initiative to find their voices this time. Add to that economic special interests and government putting their heads together, and the net result is locals wondering into new public standards with nary a whimper.
Of course alcohol interests now want more changes but complain about the difficulty of the petitioning process, demonstrating that someone has missed a fundamental point or refused to accept it. Institutionalizing shifts in popular values is supposed to be difficult. It is because of America’s sluggish system that we have enjoyed a civil stability unheard of anywhere else in the world. Despotism is easy, democratic representation is not.
Timing is not the only irony. Adults are constantly preaching to young people about the dangers of alcohol use. Kids are subjected to all the scary statistics and yet underage alcohol use is still on the rise. Adults seem to believe that “knowledge is power” when clearly in this case it is not.
The problem is not with the kids or with the information, but with the preachers. Hence the other irony, or, in the eyes of young people, the hypocrisy. In the names of convenience, pleasure, profits, self-service, cultural enlightenment and adult privilege, adults put to a lie all the dangers they proclaim. Sipping their wine or chugging their “brewsky”, they publicly lament ballooning rates of alcohol-fueled auto crashes, alcohol-inflamed domestic disturbances and life-shattering addictions but at the same time demand chasers for their dinners and festivals.
Statistically, psychologically and spiritually the public promotion and regular private use of alcohol is similar to leading a family in precipice-walking. “Hey kids, look at all the wonderful things to see and do in this dark canyon if we put our toes right to the edge of it.” “No, you have to wait a few more years but you can watch as we have all the fun, attract friends, learn cool lingo, get into special places and even help the community.” “Yes, it is true that precipice-walkers get hurt and die, but we won’t because we know better and have taught you about painful falls.”
When kids and grown kids end up falling, the “adult” reaction is to treat the symptoms. Despotism is easy. From the living room or from the court room, simply drive the offenders to remorse by taking their freedom or dignity or possessions without ever admitting who the original culprits were; governors, legislatures, councils, mayors, parents and friends who allowed it all seem so attractive and normal. Instead of changing themselves and leading the way into deliverance through whatever sacrifice necessary, they continue to formulate more cunning ways to open the tap, blame kids for learning their lessons, and blame themselves less.
Yes, once the devil is out of the bottle and done its damage, society must intercede, sometimes with force. But all the group strivings, incarcerations, confiscations, educations, and any other after-the-fact intervention will never cure the blight. The problem is not so much the product itself or any misconstrued data or ineffective public programs. The problems are the homes and institutions of responsibility where the intoxicating presence of alcohol is promoted or allowed to flirt with lives and community. Apparently “adults” still hold to the fairy tale belief that their children will grow up to do as their parents and others said instead of amplifying what they practiced.