Quit Drinking
Quit Drinking: Drunk and Driving Again Wisconsin has a serious drunk driving problem. The culture of the state is steeped in tradition—tailgating before Packers games, tailgating before Brewers games, and tipping a few at a favorite local watering hole. There are taverns everywhere in Wisconsin and it’s not uncommon, especially in Milwaukee, to find a saloon on each corner in a quiet, residential area. The arrests for Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) reflect the culture of alcohol consumption. From time to time people get upset over a story about a traffic fatality, but the uproar soon dies down and life goes on. The law has no teeth and sadly there is little to no accountability for one’s actions. The drunk driving is epidemic. It’s ridiculous. But every time somebody dares to bring it up in the state legislature, politicians from both the assembly and the senate will run for cover. They shudder. They fear for their jobs. They will have to face off with the powerful “Tavern League” and its lobbyist. That lobbyist represents all of the little local tavern owners in the state and the tavern owners in the state represent the people who drink too much and drive. The debate is whether or not to prosecute the bartender because somebody drinks too much, or whether or not OWI should be a felony after the first conviction, the second, the third or the fourth. It is only appropriate that voting on such matters is our representative from Chippewa Falls, who currently faces his own fourth drunk driving conviction. He was arrested again this week, just a few weeks after being convicted of his third offense. The other two came in 1990-91, so they haven caught him in a while. He was out on bail and it seems he might be in trouble for jumping that bail, because one of the conditions was that he stay sober at all times. Of course, in the name of political correctness, there is a member of the assembly who wants to expel the drunken rep. After all, it is far easier to punish that guy than it is to treat him. It is far easier to throw him out of the legislature than it is to change laws. And, it’s far easier not to change the laws because if you do change the law you may not get re-elected. The debate is always about punishment. Should it be a felony for one conviction? You can kill people when you drive drunk, but currently you have to drive drunk a lot to be punished. The governor of the state would like to release non-violent prisoners, and even some violent ones, in an effort to save millions of dollars in state money by taking the pressure off an over-crowded prison system. No, he actually needs the space in the prisons for drunk drivers. They can go in, serve their time and go home to offend again. Treatment is more difficult. It requires personal accountability. It’s easier just to dry the drunk out, and then set him/her loose again without treating the disease. Alcohol is everywhere, even in the most unlikely places, or maybe the idea of an unlikely place is not really the case here. Churches have festivals and there’s always a beer tent. There’s always a story coming out of one of those festivals, relating to a public disturbance. Wisconsinites simply are incapable of enjoying life, having fun or otherwise being happy unless there’s alcohol. But the solution to the problem is not punishment, rather the solution is to examine the culture and introduce change, ever so slightly, to allow people to see the problem for themselves and take personal action. As liquor licenses come up for renewal, why reissue so many? Of course Wisconsin loves taxes and people will pay through the nose, or so legislators are led to believe. You could always tax bar owners out of business, which is not so far fetched, considering Wisconsin is not altogether friendly towards business of any kind. You can write laws that give the state the right to seize a car used by an OWI offender, but the offender will just buy another car, unless of course it is illegal to do so. You can take away their driving privileges, but that law is already on the books and has no substance, because they drive anyway, regardless of the consequences. The trouble is, the discussions around the formation of any law is always punitive in nature, and nobody really wants to act in a way that accentuates the common good, and the common good in this case is for people to take another long, hard look at their use of alcohol. Should drunk drivers be on the road? Of course not. Are there consequences for driving drunk? Yes. But the bigger issue is our own attitudes. People have to change. The law is only so effective. People have to take responsibility. I am a person who has an enormous predisposition to abusing alcohol and it is only by the grace of God that I didn’t hurt somebody, or kill somebody, in my youth. Facing the reality of it all, I chose to make a major change in my life and not drink. While I was never in treatment or had any formal diagnosis of alcoholism, it was in my family and my relationship with alcohol certainly pointed to trouble. But it’s always somebody else who has to pay, or somebody else who is to blame. No, I am responsible and the first step in effecting real change is for me to look at me, openly and honestly. The law seems to trail the real issue. It’s like I am going to do what I am going to do until you stop me. It’s only illegal if you get caught, right? If you can’t catch me, it’s your problem. Even if you do catch me, I’ll do it again. This problem requires re-education, a process that focuses on attitudes and a moral responsibility to act in the best interest of others. We don’t want to go back to prohibition. That only made people angry and caused them to go “underground” for their pleasures. Freedom is a good thing, but it comes with a price. Rather, we need to begin with ourselves, to self-regulate. Just because somebody “gets away with it” that doesn’t make it right. After we self-regulate, then we can focus on broader issues, such as laws. For more Quit Drinking go to books Quit Drinking Quit Drinking Quit Drinking Quit Drinking Quit Drinking Quit Drinking Quit Drinking HOW TO USE THIS SITE:This site contains five MAIN pages that EVERYONE should read: RECOVERY… Yourself... Your Family... Your Friends... Your Community... The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.  You Can Be ADDICTION FREE FOREVER!Are you or your loved one struggling with addiction?YOU MUST TAKE ACTION NOW! Use this at-home guide to End Addiction Forever:Click here for details!
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