Friday letters: Alcohol plays too large a role in our society

The June 4 newspaper unfortunately illustrated the troubling trend toward unfettered access to alcoholic beverages in all aspects of life:

(1) The front page was dominated by the death of a 4-year old child due to a collision with a drunken driver with a blood alcohol level more than four times the legal limit.

(2) At the top of the front page was a picture of a young lady pouring an alcoholic beverage with the perplexing invitation by the newspaper to “indulge yourself with these luxury meal options” in Go Columbia magazine.

(3) On page A3 was an account of a drunken driver being pulled from his burning car. He was observed clutching the steering wheel while unconscious.

(4) On page B2 was an article advising us that the new president of the University of Texas, unlike his predecessor, supported the sale of beer at football games “to advance the fan experience.”

(5) On page C4 was an account of the death of a promising British politician at age 55 whose political career “was cut short by alcoholism,” with the implication that his life was also cut short by alcoholism.

This trend is even more troubling when the major facilitators are the very community leaders who are charged with dealing with the consequences of alcoholic beverages.

Columbia

This story was originally published June 18, 2015 at 7:55 PM.