Today is the 70th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. The national movement towards legal prohition of alcohol sale in the 1920s resulted in a dramatic increase of violence and an increasing corruption among those attempting to enforce prohibition. New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia said that it would take 250,000 policemen to enforce Prohibition and 250,000 more to police the police. ([url=http://www.mapinc.org/drugnew...]from here[/url]) Alcohol consumption did not disappear during prohibition, but went underground. Not only was there a rise in crime due to the criminalization of alcohol, but there was also a risk of contaminated alcohol since there were no longer any regulations on alcohol. The effort to control human behavior, to force individuals to live a healthy life free of alcohol, certainly illustrated the fact that human behavior cannot be controlled, cannot be dictated by the government. Many people disagree with alcohol consumption, but still realize that it is illogical to attempt to control human behavior through legislation. There is a general agreement that the 18th amendment was a mistake. Yet we still seem to think it's a good idea to keep drugs illegal. Did we, as a nation, really learn anything from Prohibition?
Anyway, let's celebrate today- eat, drink, and be merry. Oh, but only if you're 21. ;)
"Tragically, a nation that was created by intellectuals and visionaries has now been completely taken over by venal corporate gangsters, delusional Christian fruitcakes and hopelessly shallow Texas shit-kickers." -Tom Robbins
