Ignorance

The year was 1952. Prohibition was a major form of controversy in the Mississippi Legislature. As you can imagine, most local politicians, as well as legislators, were very hesitant to take any kind of stand on the issue. However, one man did indeed speak his mind, and that man was N. S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr.

At the age of 24, he was elected to the House in 1947, the year my father was born. Although he served only one term, he more than made up for his brief time as a legislator by delivering the famous "Whiskey Speech" during his last year in office.

On April 4th, the tension was extremely high and near fist fights were not uncommon on the streets, much less in the House. There was a banquet held that night at the old King Edward Hotel in Jackson, where Senators and their wives, members of the House, and others had gathered. Rumors had spread about Soggy's philosophy on the subject, and he was called upon to speak his mind that night.

When he began his speech, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. As he finished the first half of the speech, the Drys (those that were against the sale of liquor) stood up and gave him a huge ovation. Unfortunately for them, he was only halfway through his speech. When things were quiet again, he finished his speech and he got yet another ovation from the Wets (those that were for the sale of liquor).

Here is a copy of that famous speech:



In 1966, Mississippi finally legalized the sale of liquor. However, Alcorn County (where I grew up) was a dry county. That is, you couldn't buy beer but you could by liquor. The Tennessee state line was only 2 miles away, and that's where you could go to buy beer. It never really made sense to me, but I was a kid, so I never really thought that much about it. But it really didn't make sense. All that money going to Tennessee....there's absolutely no telling how many people drove up to the state line to buy beer. It's really scary to imagine how much money we gave Tennessee over all those years.

Anyway, in June of 1989, just a week or so after I graduated from high school, Alcorn County voters cast out liquor, ending 21 years of legalized liquor sales. That decision came 5 days after the county seat legalized beer sales. So it flip-flopped....they voted beer in and liquor out. What did that mean? Well, you could now buy beer at grocery stores and convenience stores, but all the liquor stores had to close. And so did the restaurant bars, as well as the bar out at the country club. This obviously caused business at those places to flounder, and most of them closed their doors. The country club memberships also declined to the point that it almost closed down.

So why am I writing about all of this? Funny you should ask. Tomorrow, December 13th, Alcorn County (Corinth) will again vote on the liquor issue:



Corinth is a beautiful little town in Northeast Mississippi. It draws a ton of tourism due to its role in the Civil War and its proximity to Shiloh. It is trying to become a thriving city again, putting a ton of effort into drawing companies and businesses to the area. However, nice restaurant chains and larger businesses do not want to go to a town that doesn't support liquor sales. They make big money selling alcohol, and it makes no sense to go to a town that can't see the light and get with the times.

And that's why the title of this story is IGNORANCE. It's funny how your perspective on people changes as you grow older. As a kid in Corinth, in my mind all adults were smart and wise...it just came with being older. Now that I'm 35, however, I see things differently. Corinth has a shot at being a thriving city again. But the ignorant people are bound and determined to prevent it. They should put up a sign on the outskirts of the city that says "Welcome to Corinth....please set your clocks back 50 years so that you can be ignorant and behind the times like the United Drys!!" Perhaps that sounds harsh, but I don't care. It's not aimed at Corinth in general...it's aimed at those ignorant people in Alcorn County that can't understand economics...the United Drys. They have to make a religious issue out of everything. I saw a bumper sticker the other day...it said "I have nothing against God...it's his fanclub I can't stand." That says it all, right there.

So anyway, for those of you out there that give a damn, Corinth's fate will be determined tomorrow. Cross your fingers that intelligence prevails over ignorance.