Prohibition Proclaimed a Failed Experiment
Monday August 11, 2008
On August 11, 1932, in an address accepting the Republican Nomination for a second term as president, Herbert Hoover proclaimed Prohibition as a failed experiment. However, it would be over a year before the official end of the crime wave that was known as Prohibition ended with the ratification of the 21st amendment on December 5, 1933. Cheers!
Comments
And we haven’t learned yet - witness the failed anti-drug “war” (how one has a “war” with inanimate objects I’ll never understand). It’s Prohibition all over again, again creating a huge underclass of the addicted and a great criminal class preying on them.
Those advocating legalization seem to ignore the realities of legal booze,legal cigarettes,legal drugs.
First, if you are impaired you cannot work,drive,operate machinery,go to school,or raise children properly.This is not just a matter of legal prohibition,it has to do with insurance policies.
Secondly,legalization of marijuana is not a problem for those non-drivers without children and without a job. Legalization of meth or crack or heroin is not on the table for the simple reason the level of impairment is higher and worse,creates violent behavior.
Thirdly, since 1795 federal and state authorities insisted it collect taxes on booze. This failed miserably in mountainous areas and rural areas around the country, Moonshining exists and will exist forever.Do not assume these folks went to jail for selling booze. They went to jail because the government wanted the revenues and wanted to protect the public from poisoning,a logical assumption given the deaths attributed to wood alcohol poisoning or bathtub gin poisoning later.
Thirdly, the underclass gives the impression the society wants to create a burden on the poor.No the poor want to alleviate their miserable existences in dead end jobs,marriages,and families.It is also true for the wealthier people who have a reason to get stoned. Alcohol has never been solely the drug for the poor,nor have drugs.Addiction crosses ethnic,national,and sexual barriers.To assume otherwise is to ignore the prevalence of booze and drugs in wealthier families. You don’t need a lawyer to tell you your life is miserable,and that they can get you out of a jam for a large amount of money. You do need a lawyer if you decide self-medication, driving, or working are good combinations.
When you blame the government in a democracy you blame the majority of the public,just as you will after the election.It is a vast conspiracy to warp the minds of the majority.But it is not a conspiracy if you warp the minds of the minority?
Most people in this country do not believe we are winning the war on drugs. Many people do not believe we could win the war against drunk drivers. They equate social changes with battles and warfare.It isn’t warfare,it’s the democracy working through its anxieties about the youth,the family,and the lack of respect for the law.The English used to have unarmed policemen. Now they have armed policemen who are increasingly becoming involved in shooting incidents over drugs.
One might also add other nations without much driving,without much employment,without great amounts of poverty are quite happy with the use of drugs which are after all another opiate of the masses.