So a couple of us went out to eat on a Sunday in Ruston. Nothing was open being that it was a Sunday and most people were in church. Even though it was a bit annoying, we sucked it up. We were apposed to eating at a chain restaurant, but we decided to do it anyways because nothing else was open. We decided to go to chili's. I have gone there many times before, in and out of Louisiana, so most days I know exactly what to expect. Our waiter came to our table and we decided to order beer. We had been walking and it just seemed like the right drink to go along with our chips, dip and food. To our surprise Chili's does not serve beer on Sundays. Not only that, but no one can sell it, and even in grocery stores, you have to wait til Monday. I must say we were disappointed. Why could we not drink beer with our meal? So it turns out that "No Beer Sundays" is the Law! In the whole parish (that is that they call counties here) it is illegal to sell beer on Sundays. Other than the fact that there is a drive thru liquor store and you can order beer there any other day of the week, no one can sell alcohol on the day of the Lord. Being the people we are, we started talking how we are in the South and that is just the way that things are. Most people here (or many) are Christian and that is the culture. We agreed that even though it was odd, we have to respect cultural differences and what that entails. The culture here is no beer on Sunday, so we will be tolerant and let it go. And then I started thinking... is that culture or is that theocracy? The definition of theocracy is "a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities" (dictionary.com). In this case, that is exactly what is happening with beer. Due to the fact that the people who make the laws in Louisiana are Christian and have Christian constituents, they have deemed it necessary to make Sunday a 'holy day' and thus no one can drink. Even those who are not Christian or who are Christian and want to drink, everyone has to wait until Monday. I wonder if anyone has ever contested this law, or if they have just moved away not wanting to deal with it. I am still a bit torn on this issue, but I think that what we first thought was a cultural difference may well be one group of people putting their beliefs on others, and that is not separation of church and state!
I agree with your initial thought that it's a cultural difference. I'm Lutheran and we don't have any prohibitions against alcohol, so I don't have a problem drinking on Sundays. However, the people of Lincoln Parish have the right to make their own local ordinances, of which this is just one.
ReplyDeletePeople in different regions decide that different things are important to them. In California, maybe it's requiring people to recycle. In Lincoln Parish, the voters have obviously voted that they don't want alcohol on Sundays. It doesn't really matter whether they voted "yes" on this law because they're Southern Baptists and against alcohol or because they just think it'll cut down on drinking and driving. Voting their values is their right. This ordinance breaks no federal law, so you couldn't really fight it in court. The only way to get rid of it would be to get a ballot initiative to change the law next Election Day. If the voters want to change the law, they will. If they like the law, they are the citizens of the parish and it's their right to make it.