WWJD? Have a Glass of Wine, That's What

June 16, 2011

Once again, some of my friends in the town of Batesville who work for the local paper are receiving all kinds of angry letters to the editor, and criticism on Facebook, all due to their coverage of the opening of a new restaurant.
Now you may be wondering why a simple restaurant would cause so much uproar. Well, it's because the owners applied for a liquor license to sell beer at the new establishment. No hard liquor and no wine, just beer. And, they also designated half of the restaurant to be “wet” and half the restaurant to be “dry.” So people who want to go in and not have their delicate sensibilities violated by the sight of someone drinking a beer, can sit in a completely different area. Yipee!
The problem is, Independence County is a dry county and has been for a long, long time, and it seems many of the residents there have strong opinions when it comes to alcohol.
There is one other restaurant in the town that has a liquor license and it's been almost ten years since they opened up and boy, did THEY have a rough go of it. They went through all kinds of hurdles trying to get their permit and were finally successful, despite all the complaints. And really, it is a great restaurant. Josie's at the Lock House is located right on the banks of the White River. They have great food, great entertainment and yes, they have their liquor license. Big deal.
But what really cracks me up is the reasons people give as to why they are opposed to the restaurant selling beer. It's an argument that has been around since the dawn of time. They swear that “drinking” is a “sin.” They also say it will cause more DWI's.
Personally I believe the people who end up getting DWI's are the ones who have to drive 50 miles or more to a liquor store to buy their case of beer. These are the ones who open it up on the LONG drive back home, and end up drunk before they get there. Maybe if they could just go to their local Wal-Mart and buy it, as the residents in wet counties can, they'd go home and drink it where it's perfectly legal, and not be drinking in their vehicle on the streets between the wet and dry counties. And, the people of Independence County could then benefit from the money it generated. It's just my opinion but it sure makes sense.
And as far as drinking being a sin? I'm not so sure about that one. The Bible clearly says not to be DRUNK, but it says nothing about having a drink or two. It's more about anything in excess being bad for you. Lets face it, Jesus himself drank wine. And for those who would holler “no, it was NON-ALCOHOLIC wine, I'd invite you to show me exactly where in the Bible it says that. Because it doesn't. Just think about it for a second. There were no refrigerators in the days that Jesus walked the earth, so any type of grape juice would begin to ferment after just a few short hours, becoming honest-to-goodness WINE. There was nothing non-alcoholic about it. The only way they could store any type of juice at all was to make wine out of it.
The sad part is, the residents who are pitching such a fit about the restaurant are the same ones who also complain about the bad economy, or no jobs, or how bad the town is doing. Go figure.
The “wet” and “dry” issue is not only an issue for Independence county, it comes up in counties all over Arkansas all the time, and the arguments against it are always the same. 100 years from now I'm sure it will be the same ol' thing. I guess we're lucky prohibition ever ended in the first place...or did it?

Camille Nesler has written for several publications including The Saline Courier (where her column runs every Friday on the Opinion Page), the Batesville Guard, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Maumelle Living magazine and Livestrong. She also works full-time as a school nurse, which allows her summers off with her family and gives her the freedom to write, which is her favorite pastime. She's married with three children, a lazy bulldog and a psycho guinea pig, and she gets most of the material for her columns and blogs from them