Since I Have a Soapbox...

Let me not be misrepresented. I am a proud citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I hold our countryside to be as beautiful as any in this great Union of ours; our people to be some of the most hospitable and kind. We are the home to world class thoroughbreds, Jim Beam, Makers Mark, Louisville Slugger, the Corvette, and Cassius Clay. Our world as a whole would be a much darker place without these things. However, we are also one of the few remaining places in this country that holds on to an outdated and Puritanical idea that just WILL NOT DIE...the dry county.

Check out this map:

For a larger version, click HERE.

Everywhere you see the darkest blue color, you are seeing a dry county. The next to darkest blue is a "moist" county. Notice anything strange? How about that nearly the entire state of Kentucky is dry. Do you see that anywhere else? Texas has a lot of "moist" counties...but you can still have a (restricted) drink in those.

Here is my problem: the dry county is a remnant of a bygone era. It hearkens back to a time when Kentucky was the buckle of the Bible Belt and hell-fire and brimstone preaching was the order of the day. Somehow we have remained in a time-warp when it comes to this issue.

At 18 years old a young man can be shipped off to train to go overseas and fight for our freedom, but let him come home to Kentucky and try to have a drink. No dice. Even if the soldier is 21 there is still a good chance he can't go downtown and have a beer. It's like we're saying, "You're good enough to sacrifice your life to keep us free, but you're not free enough to have a drink...that would be wrong."

I would love to sit down with somebody in the know and have them explain to me the problem. I just want to hear them out and weigh their argument against common sense. Chances are there wouldn't be a satisfactory answer they could give as to why GAM aren't ALLOWED in a FREE COUNTRY to buy alcohol in their town. It's asinine.

Part of the problem is the older generation who was brought up to believe that drinking was the devil and alcohol was the tool of Satan used to swiftboat men to Hell. Those people are the ones that kick their feet and scream to high Heaven when any progressive legislation finds its way onto a local ballot. Those are the old farts that time and again rally together and vote down Demon Alcohol. Luckily, those people can't live forever.

Freedom ain't free. A lot of good men have given their lives to make sure Americans are able to live their lives just exactly the way they want. That's what America is about. It's WELL past time that we start treating Americans like adults able to make their own decisions and not like children who can't think for themselves.

Not everyone will choose to drink. Fine. That is your RIGHT as an American. Give me the same right to make my own choices, regardless of what county I happen to live in.

For more information on dry counties, check out this link: Dry County Foolishness