Live It Up (Restrictions Apply)
What is it about booze that makes it just fine at 11:59 and wrong at 12:01? But still okay at a gas station till 1? I don’t particularly care who drinks what and when. But why do we, as a group, think that time limits are appropriate for something like buying booze? What’s the goal here?
Walmarts around here are open 24 hours, and it amazes me that any time of night people are out shopping. Nobody works 9 to 5 anymore, so why not? That said, why is it that a factory worker or security guard can get off work at 4 am, wander in to Walmart, and be denied some product that anybody with green money can buy all day long until midnight? (I’m guessing midnight is the cut-off. It could be 11pm. Not sure.)
And at what time does the devil drink become available again? Is it 8am? Noon? When is the good time to buy the bad thing? My point in all this is that these rules and limits are based on some notion of morality. And often morality makes no logical sense. That’s just the way it is.
As a kid in the 70s, stores were closed on Sunday, and closed early on Saturday. No alcohol sold on Sunday at all, even if you found an open store. No phone calls after 9pm. No cursing in public ever. No rough talk in the presence of ladies. Men were expected to open doors, lift heavy objects and give up seats on public transport to women, who in turn didn’t raise their voice, argue with men, wear pants or sit with knees open. Children were best seen and not heard.
The meta ethic of morality is that following some simple rules makes things better for everyone. Do those things sound better to you? Are there really words that men can tolerate and ladies cannot? Do quiet kids make better citizens? And does alcohol make one more or less intoxicated based on time of purchase? Is all this forced morality based on principles that really improve our lives?
I’ve wondered this my entire life, and the question is as important now as ever. Are we controlling the behavior of others in a logical, even-handed and sensible way? Or are we tied to romantic notions of a past where strict rules of conduct held commies and crooks at bay? Are we still practicing rituals dreamt up by ancient nomadic shepherds, hovering over the putrid stench of camel-dung fires, weaving tales of intrigue to stave off the blackness of the Arabian midnight?
As a kid, I always thought grown-ups made their own decisions and were responsible for the results of their own actions. I spent a lifetime amassing knowledge of how the world works and how best to operate in it. Yet more and more lately I see entire social systems based on first century fairy tales and provincial views on temptation and sin.
Grow the fuck up, everyone. We have learned so much in the last few thousand years. Have a little self-respect and act as if you can think like a grown up. Don’t spend your one and only life being held back and restricting others based on nonsense. If your neighbors are sleeping, try to keep the noise down. Other than that, live it up.
Comments
Post a Comment