Yes, sir. That will be one extra-large, double-pepperoni pizza and a case of Jack Daniel’s. Will that complete your order?
Don’t laugh. That parody is actually not much of a parody. Rather, it’s close to the real-life situation in Mississippi. Thanks to our legislators, it’s now possible in a state awash with daily alcohol tragedies to have hard liquor delivered directly to your doorstep just like a burger or that extra-large pizza.
Did your hangover make you too sick to restock in time for your next besotted episode? Not a problem. No more inconvenient trips to the nearest liquor store. No reason to stop drinking when the last bottle is drained. Just tap the app on your smartphone and it’s down the hatch again in a matter of minutes. Merry Christmas.
“As of today, you can get your food delivered to your home, your groceries and even your coffee. A lot of places, so why not alcohol?” said Raj Ramarao of Jackson, owner of MoonshineMS, in a recent interview with WAPT-TV in Jackson.
The MoonshineMS website describes Ramarao’s business as a company “born in Mississippi” that “connects Mississippi consumers, retailers and brands.”
“It is the convenience,” said Pete Clark, owner of Madison Cellars in Madison. “Our customers, some are going to be too busy to get here, especially during the holidays, or they forgot and need a bottle of this, or a bottle of that,” he explained in the WAPT-TV story.
“Why not have it delivered, and they don’t have to make that extra trip?” he asked.
There you go. Our ever-vigilant legislators have once again made life more convenient for all of us. Except, that is, for the children in this state who are beaten daily by a drunken parent. Except for the babies who, through no fault of their own, will be born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
Except for the hospitals that will have to treat near-death alcoholics with absolutely no hope for getting paid for their lifesaving effort. Except for the outrageous number of fatalities caused by drunk driving.
The alcohol industry in this state is one of the most powerful lobbying groups that swarm the Capitol in Jackson during legislative sessions. Many legislators are only too eager to hand these drug pushers everything they demand. (Yes, alcohol is a drug.) Innocent citizens of Mississippi pay the huge price, over and over and over, for this cozy relationship.
“A huge majority of the men and women of our state’s House of Representatives and Senate have totally destroyed the local option law of 1963 concerning alcohol, bit by bit over the past fifteen years,” wrote Kenny Digby, executive director-treasurer of the Mississippi Baptist Christian Action Commission, in a statement to The Baptist Record.
“This new delivery system of alcohol to your front door is just one more step in making it easier for your children and grandchildren to become alcoholics. The Christian Action Commission will always pursue public policy that results in less alcohol across our state, on our roads, and in our homes (domestic violence), not more.
“After the upcoming 2022 session of the Legislature beginning in January, you will probably be able to ‘package’ marijuana with alcohol to be delivered to your front door. Proverbs 20:1 cautions, ‘Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise’ – and that includes our elected officials.
“How ironic that any senator or representative who abuses alcohol could be censured by the same politicians who make alcohol so available to all. We have too many politicians who care more about ‘revenue’ for the state — and campaign contributions for their reelections — than the greater good of our children and grandchildren.”
Opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, The Baptist Record, nor the publication’s Advisory Committee. The author may be contacted at wperkins@mbcb.org.
