Shortly after I came to Atlanta in July of 1967 (look for the commemorative plaque at the old Greyhound Bus Terminal) I had the occasion to visit a small child in the hospital.
I tried to stop and buy a stuffed animal on my way; but, alas, it was Sunday and that just wasn’t to be allowed. Only a blasphemous heathen or cloven-hoofed child of Satan would buy a stuffed animal for a hospitalized child while good Christians were attending church.
Most “blue laws” are gone now, but remnants remain. You cannot, for instance, purchase beer or wine at your grocery store on Sunday. Just wouldn’t be proper. So if unexpected guests drop by, and if you don’t happen to have a bottle of that wine you know they love ... it’s Kool-Aid time. Serve it in the right glass and you might get away with it.
Why is this so? Because some (certainly not all) Christians have decreed that so it shall be. (Note to editors: Hire some extra staff to handle all of the “Neal Boortz is Christian-bashing” calls, comments and letters that are surely on the way.)
The Georgia Legislature has stirred up a bit of a storm by proposing to give local jurisdictions the option of holding referendums on Sunday sales. If the voters so choose, the lights on the beer-and-wine coolers at your local Publix will burn seven days a week.
Consider, please, the fact that absolutely nobody’s right to life, liberty or property is violated if someone buys a case of beer for a tailgate party or a bottle of Mad Dog for a fancy dinner on Sunday. There is no rational reason for that to be illegal. That matters not, though, to the Georgia Christian Coalition.
I introduce you now to one Jerry Luguire. Mr. Luguire is the president of the Georgia Christian Coalition. Mr. Luguire is no stranger to the news. About a year ago he raised some eyebrows when he said that most (not some) child prostitution, as he put it, “starts as a lark.” What we have here are girls saying, “Let’s see if we can make some money!” All I could aspire to was a paper route.
Luguire’s current crusade is to start a grass-roots effort to lobby local governments to prevent Sunday liquor sales. Now, here comes your Luguire quote. Maybe not as good as the child prostitution “starts as a lark” stuff, but it ranks up there. Luguire says: “We should have one day when people don’t have to buy alcoholic products.”
Say what? Am I missing something here? I’m not a drinker, so I guess I’m uninformed. Just how long has there been a law in Georgia that says people “have to buy alcoholic products?” I’m in clear violation! Do I turn myself in somewhere?
Luguire responded to an e-mail from a listener with this gem: “Wonder if the radio station has the lineup of programming on Sunday as they do the rest of the week. Ask him [presumably me] and if not, why not?”
Well, Mr. Luguire. I would be happy to answer. Our programming differs on weekends because extensive market research has shown that weekend listeners desire unique programming. Saturday morning listeners want a gardening show before they start playing in the dirt, for instance. There is no law preventing WSB from putting me on the air on Sunday mornings if they choose to do so. And there, Mr. Luguire, is the word you just don’t seem to understand: Choose.
The bottom line, Mr. Luguire, is that you seek to use the police power of government to force people to behave the way you believe they should behave on Sunday. Perhaps you might want to consider the option of concentrating on living your life as an example for others, rather than trying to control their behavior at the point of a gun.
Listen to Neal Boortz live from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays on AM 750 and now 95.5FM News/Talk WSB.
His column appears every Saturday. For more Boortz, go to boortz.com