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In this era of “personal responsibility,” we’re all constantly vigilant for the coming socialist incursion, the conquering forces of the U.N., and the unbridled greed of schoolteachers. Well, one of those threats has slipped through the cracks, and it’s up to us to bring it to light.
It’s taken Insider Asheville and AshevilleBlog.com — not the so-called “news media” — to break this story wide open. You’d better sit down for this one. Grab hold of a loved one or a stiff drink because Socialism — yes, out-and-out Socialism — has come to roost in Asheville. It’s now embedded in our culture like a leech on an unsuspecting toe. It’s up to us to rip it off.
The Educational Portion of the Program
What exactly is Socialism? According to one dictionary, it’s a system of social organizations that own and control the means of production and distribution (of goods, food, etc.) for the community as a whole. In other words, it’s when the state runs your life by controlling capital, enterprise, and pleasure.
Would you like to have to write to your congressman for permission to have a few beers? Who would? That would pretty much destroy the whole economy of Asheville, wouldn’t it? It would also put a damper on your social life, unless you happen to enjoy knitting in groups. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Yet that’s sort of what’s happened. I’ve exaggerated for effect, but the State — not the Balanced Hand of the Free Market — determines what you can and cannot drink. In terms of liquor, anyway.
State-Run Means Socialism
The State of North Carolina runs all the liquor stores within its borders. That means every single liquor store in Asheville, Buncombe County, and beyond is run by state employees … who for all we know record your purchases in a file with your name on it.
A state-run liquor store means that the state buys the liquor, decides how much to mark it up for retail, and sells it to you. It means that the state profits from every shot you take. It means the state has the final say about which brand of tequila, vodka, whisky, and rum you can drink. That, dear readers, is socialism.
It’s Socialism, Regardless of the History
I understand the history of state-run liquor stores. North Carolina invented NASCAR, which got its start from hot rods outrunning the police to deliver illegal moonshine. The State, in its infinite wisdom, decided to take its revenge by taking over sale of the popular stuff when Prohibition was ultimately repealed.
But it’s now 2014, not 1934, and today’s tight-fisted state politicians have gone to great lengths to minimize and monetize the state’s resources in the name of conservative values. While the state legislature has emphasized “personal responsibility,” however, they’ve ignored this incursion of Socialism into our cities, towns, and hamlets.
It must have happened while their attention was focused on cutting the social safety net and cutting the taxes on the top 1% of the state’s earners — not that there’s anything wrong with that, either. But not protecting our citizens from Socialism, especially now, while we have a socialist Kenyan sitting in the White House … well, it’s inexcusable.
Take Action Today!
So if you really care about protecting our country from the evils of Socialism, what can you do? If you really want our state to remain a free democracy and a bastion of capitalism, who can you trust? If you care about protecting the rights of your children (assuming they are old enough to drink — a limit that the state itself sets!), then you should demand that the State loosen its iron curtain grip on the liquor market.
But good luck. Liquor sales remain a lucrative source of income for the State of North Carolina, its counties, and its cities. Despite their anti-socialism language, our politicians will not likely own up to their own words. Watch as they trip on their rhetoric and backtrack on all their fiery philosophies. Listen for the hypocrisy, but don’t let them get away with it.
Because we all know that socialist liquor stores today can mean a socialist economy tomorrow. What’s next? A five-year plan for tobacco sales? That’s not the country our boys and girls have died to defend. That’s not the country our forefathers wanted. We know this because we know many of them were smokers.
Look for more Insider Asheville blog posts in the coming months.
Dear Paul,
Would you feel the same if it were food instead of alcohol? What about clothes or cars or refrigerators? It’s a slippery slope, my friend. If the state sells alcohol, they can sell anything, kind of like a snake oil salesman. And I for one do not want to live in a state where the government is run by a snake oil salesman!
It’s not socialism. That’s a little far fetched. If the united states was controlling it for all states then yes… Socialism… But it’s north Carolina choosing to do this and its different in each state which is, in fact, capitalism with a hint of socialist pepper. Dash of capitalist salt… Haha.