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Pastoral Nuggets - June 2011 |
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Sunday
Alcohol sales: What Are the
Costs and What is the Back-story? As I made my way to my office in LaGrange from my home in Hogansville the other day, a billboard on I-85 caught my eye. The billboard, promoting some casino somewhere, pictured a woman with a huge smile on her face touting how many thousands of dollars she had won at this particular casino. The huge caption on the billboard read: “WINNING HAPPENS!” As I drove past the billboard I began to think to myself - yes, winning does happen. The billboard is absolutely correct. The casinos have to let somebody win occasionally or nobody would come. But then I thought – at what costs and what is the back-story? Rest assured there are costs and a back-story they do not tell. The business model that the casino operates under is the real story. This business model presumes that the vast majority of all the customers who darken the doors of the casino will lose. The odds are in the casinos favor. For this one woman to win a major jackpot, hundreds and maybe even thousands of people had to lose. And they do not tell you that story. They do not tell you the stories of people who become addicted to gambling and how it becomes an all-consuming, driving, controlling force in their lives. They do not tell you the stories of life savings, and even homes, which have been sacrificed to the gods of gambling. They won’t tell you about the sub-cultures of organized crime, illegal drugs, prostitution, etc… that are often associated with and become the byproduct of this industry. And they certainly won’t tell you about broken marriages, broken homes, and broken relationships that are all too often a byproduct of this lifestyle. The only message they want you to hear is: “WINNING HAPPENS!” (Sounds like Charlie Sheen, doesn’t it? “WINNING!”) But the questions that beg an answer are: At what costs and what is the back-story? Several years ago the citizens of Georgia voted to legalize gambling in the form of the lottery. Occasionally, you will hear about somebody winning some pittance on a scratch-off ticket, and even more rarely, winning a mega-jackpot. People tout the benefits the lottery has provided through the Hope Scholarship and Pre-K funding. And I will give the devil his due. As far as I know, they have done what they said they would do with the money. Yes, a few players and the students in Georgia are winning. But at what costs and what is the back-story? The back-story is that the lottery is one of the most regressive forms of taxation ever conceived. The next time you are in a convenience store, just look at the clientele in the lottery line. I promise you, you won’t see any millionaires there, you won’t see any Fortune 500 Business Executives there, and you won’t see any fiscally responsible people there. Generally speaking, what you will see is the segment of society, who can least afford to be gambling any amount of their money, waiting to purchase a lottery ticket that lottery officials and officials from the State of Georgia already know, that for the vast majority, will not be a winner. For the past five-six years I have fought tooth and nail against the legalization of Sunday alcohol sales in Georgia. This past legislative session the Georgia legislature, when given the green light by Governor Nathan Deal to do so, passed a law that gives the governing authorities of our counties and municipalities in Georgia the right to allow the citizens to vote on the legalization of Sunday alcohol sales. And rest assured, if our county commissioners and city councils for our three municipalities decide to let the voters decide, and if the voters pass the measure, then those who believe that the sale of alcohol should be legal on Sunday will walk away winners. But the questions that beg an answer are: At what costs and what’s the back-story? In reality, the costs are still unknown and the back-stories are yet to be written. And although I do not know the names of the participants in the stories and I do not know the full content of the stories, rest assured the stories will involve certain things. Some will involve domestic violence, some will involve automobile accidents, some will involve emergency room visits, and sadly, some will involve funeral homes. The scripts for the stories are already written. The only thing lacking is the names of the participants and the headlines regarding the circumstances involved. Another back-story that will get little attention in this debate will be the removal of just one more brick from the moral foundation of a society that used to be dominated by Conservative Christian Values. We live in a day and time when the rights of the minority are cherished and protected - unless of course - that minority happens to be Conservative Christians. We are the only minority group that it seems to be en vogue and politically correct to discriminate against by systematically dismantling and removing our sacred and historical values, traditions, and practices. I have watched in horror and dismay as seemingly the thought process in Troup County, LaGrange, West Point, and Hogansville has trended toward “turning the alcohol spigots wide-open” at all costs, and putting consumption and the pursuit of pleasure first and foremost in everything we do (including children’s practice sessions and sporting events being scheduled on Sunday & Wednesday - traditional church days)! Restaurants have won the legal right to have consumption of alcohol outside their establishments in well-defined, regulated areas. But what baffles me is the placement of these areas. In LaGrange, one is right where people, like me, who take their grandkids to see children’s movies on Friday or Saturday nights have to be exposed to blaring music and alcohol just to get their babies back to their cars that are parked in the city-owned parking deck. Another establishment is upgrading and expanding its outside drinking area right in the middle of a pedestrian walk-through to a parking lot. Yes, they won. It’s perfectly legal – but at what costs? And while I am on my soapbox, what is going on in LaGrange with this “Sip and Shop” thing and closing off downtown streets to have outside parties with bands, alcohol, and etc…? What are the costs? What is the back-story on this? The message I get from it is that our government is encouraging people to come downtown, shop, and consume alcohol openly so they can then turn around and drive on our streets. What ever happened to downtown being “family friendly?” The costs and the back-story could be the loss of life of your loved one or my loved one! When I consider these issues, the message on the sign becomes vividly clear: “WINNING HAPPENS!” And what also becomes vividly clear is that I am not always on the winning side. Let there be no question, I love the Lord, my country, my state, my county, and the municipalities contained therein. And for sure, I am not always right on issues. I do not always “win.” But be that as it may, when considering the issues I have broached today, and even the ones I have not broached, the same two questions must be answered: What are the costs and what is the back-story? Do we really want to continue the trend of turning the alcohol spigots wide open? Can’t we have just one day of rest from this? If and when our leaders kick the can a little further down the road, and under the guise of “letting the people decide,” (Majority rule is not always a good thing. Remember the twelve spies and the Promised Land?) ask you to vote to approve or disapprove Sunday alcohol sales, remember this: Troup County and its municipalities became the great places they are today – with the ban on Sunday alcohol sales in effect. Before you vote to remove this ban, prayerfully consider the costs and the back-story. I am convinced the costs will be more than you want to pay and the back-story will be one you don’t want to hear. Brother Aaron
Copyright
2011 Aaron McCollough Fresh Fire Ministries All Rights Reserved
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