Theoretically this is the Land of the Free, but don't you believe it. In
the Land of the Really Free, adults wouldn't be treated like children. Yet
all levels of government treat us like the youngest, dumbest children you
can imagine.
Here are some examples, all from one state (my adopted state of Arkansas)
and involving only one thing: alcohol.
Just recently a majority of voters of the city of Pine Bluff (the few that
voted) decided to continue the prohibition on restaurants' and hotels'
selling alcohol on Sundays. Why anyone who does not drink on Sunday cares if
anyone else does, I can't figure out. But that's me. Apparently, there are
enough busybodies and ministers who can't stand the idea. As H.L. Mencken
said, "Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be
happy."
It isn't just run-of-the-mill busybodies and clergymen who would have an
interest in stopping people from drinking in Pine Bluff restaurants on
Sundays. Another group with an interest is the owners of restaurants in
neighboring towns, such as Little Rock. I can't prove that these people
aided the busybodies' cause, but they would be prime suspects in my
investigation. Why? Because if people can't have a drink while eating out in
Pine Bluff, they are likely to do so at a restaurant in Little Rock.
This is the phenomenon that economist Bruce Yandle calls "Baptists and
bootleggers." It refers to the alliance inevitably struck between those who
oppose some consensual activity for moralistic reasons and those who oppose
it out of economic interest. Thus both the Baptists and the bootleggers
favored Prohibition -- the Baptists because drinking is sinful; the
bootleggers because legal booze cut into their profits.
The second case is a state law permitting grocery stores and gas stations to
sell wine -- as long as it is made in Arkansas. The law goes back to the end
of Prohibition and was in the news recently because for years the state's
alcohol board refused to issue permits for the wine sales. Now it has
resumed doing so. Limiting sales to Arkansas-made wine is blatant
protectionism. What are the local wineries afraid of? But it is just one of
the many restrictions on alcohol sales. Hard liquor may not be sold in
supermarkets, but only in private liquor stores. Of course, in some states
it may be sold only in state-owned stores. That's called socialism. And in
Arkansas, as in some other states, counties can be dry.
Which brings me to my last example. In Faulkner County, where I live,
alcohol sales are prohibited. There is one exception: special licenses for
so-called private clubs are sometimes issued. This is a sham. There are
eight private clubs with permits, two of them country clubs; a restaurant
must charge $5 annual dues just so it can call itself a club instead of a
restaurant.
Anyway, the Outback Steakhouse company wants to open an outlet in the county
(city of Conway) and has applied for a club permit. Naturally, Protestant
ministers and others are campaigning against it. But leading the charge is
the owner of an existing steakhouse. Baptists and bootleggers once again.
Now I submit that none of this is appropriate in the United States of
America. At the very least, in a free country a grownup ought to be free to
drink what, where, and when he wants so long as he doesn't harm anyone else.
I didn't say offend. I didn't say bother. I said "harm," as in strike,
assault, murder. Otherwise, it's no one else's business. (As for kids, I say
the parents are in charge.)
Some good small-D democrats will say that as long as the people get to vote
on these rules, there is no conflict with freedom. Wrong. Freedom is not
some collective right. It belongs to individuals. If a majority can vote to
stop a restaurant from serving me a drink on Sundays, I'm not free in that
respect -- and neither are the owners of the restaurants. Voting does not
sanctify tyranny.
And speaking of voting, if we grownup Americans are so incompetent when it
comes to making decisions about alcohol, why does anyone expect us to vote
for the best people to hold political office? Either we are adults capable
of regulating our lives or we are children. Make up your minds.
