American Puritanism

I just got back from the supermarket where I was refused alcohol for the first time. (No, I wasn't drunk at the time!)

A strange thing about Indiana is that they have alcohol in the supermarkets, in an aisle open to everyone (as opposed to Australia where kiddies are not even supposed to see the grog) but the state forbids alcohols sales on Sundays! (There are some exceptions eg restaurants.) So the checkout-chick asked me, "Isn't it Sunday today?" but I didn't get what she meant until she told me I couldn't buy alcohol. I already knew the law but just wasn't asking myself, "What day is it today?" when I picked up the bottle. And I wasn't even planning to drink it tonight, I only wanted it because it was on sale!

I think if they want to reduce alcoholism they should just tax it a little more. Anything bottled in the USA is very cheap, about as cheap as duty-free! But if they did that they'd certainly keep the no Sunday sales rule as well as the 21 years drinking age, both of which only serve to make it more attractive to young people.

The situation reminds me of a quote from H.L. Mencken:

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

If I stay here long enough you might see me wearing a tall hat with a belt-buckle on the front!