Sometimes I write about Atheism, sometimes libertarianism, and sometimes I write about both. Fundie Watch has a great post on religious moral activism. In his case, the local fundies want to ban alcohol sales on Sunday. They managed to piss of The Watcher, and me too.
The Watcher does a great job of rebutting the fundamentalist's moral justification to ban alcohol sales. Our county is a secular democracy. One would hope blue laws would be a thing of the past.
The article, from OneNewsNow's Ed Thomas, illustrates another attempt by fundies to help people lead moral lives--whether they want to or not.
Wichita petition aims for choice on alcohol sales
"Choice?" You mean they don't have a choice now? There is some time when citizens of Wichita have to buy alcohol? I guess it's all those godless liberals trying to force their views down everyone's throats like we keep hearing about.
I have two arguments against banning alcohol sales. One is from the atheist perspective, the other from the libertarian. They both converge on the topic of economics. Since the sale of alcohol is legal, the citizens of Wichita create demand for alcohol on Sundays through their legitimate purchases. If the fundies were actually influential, they would be able to influence the buying habits of other community members. The result would be fewer people buying alcohol on Sundays, which would cause businesses to question the value of selling on Sundays.
Fundies cannot ever hope to convince the 354,865 residents who might like to buy a six-pack on Sunday that it is immoral. Especially if it is moral and legal every other day of the week. Their only hope is to try to artificially manipulate the market through passing a law that limits market access. Of course, they cannot win. The demand will just move to different days. They are not actually affecting supply - people will stock up.
The real question comes down to influence. Their approach shows they have little influence in the community, otherwise. they would not try to implement a meaningless blue law. As an Atheist, I would fight any blue law a fundie might try to pass. As a libertarian, I would fight any law that attempts to limit the free market.
I'll have to watch this one. My bet is it goes down in flames.
1 comment:
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm sorry I didn't see your blog post here sooner, or I'd have dropped by long ago.
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