“They that can give up essential
liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” The legendary
Benjamin Franklin
I always get excited when I have a chance to hang out with old Ben Franklin. He is probably my favorite founding father. That is because more than anyone, he knew that freedom is not free and
liberty cannot exist in the absence of personal responsibility. Regrettably, many Americans are unwilling to embrace these uncomplicated notions and dread the concept of a world without someone to blame.
For weeks now, I have listened to and read the ongoing saga of “desperate” developers convincing “lapdog” politicians to do their bidding regarding the legislative passage of liquor by the drink in the Tourism Development Zone of Sevierville. As a Christian man and the former coach of 40 youth soccer teams, I seriously doubt Sevier County is in danger of experiencing the fate of Sodom should I have an infrequent cocktail after a good meal, or a cold beer during a ball game. But, I do know that without carefully planned economic growth, our children will find little hope of realizing a profitable future in their hometown, making it necessary for them to relocate to other cities for good paying jobs and the ability to earn a decent living that will support a family. Personally, I will want to see my grandchildren more than occasionally.
At risk of angering people I hold in high regard, I submit it is absurd that we are even debating liquor by the drink. We already have it. Beer and wine have been available in many of our county’s restaurants for some time now. Recently, The National Consumers League, a private, nonprofit advocacy group reported, “It does not matter whether the beverage is beer, wine, a wine cooler, a cocktail, or a mixed drink. What matters is only one thing:
alcohol content in the drink“. The current “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” published by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, define a drink of alcohol as “12 oz. of regular beer, 5 oz. of wine, or 1.5 oz. of 80-proof distilled spirits. Standard serving sizes of all alcohol beverages – beer, wine, and liquor – all contain the same amount of alcohol and have a similar impact upon the average consumer.” Apart from the tax on liquor being more than twice that of beer, there is effectively no difference between a shot of Jack Daniels and a bottle of Budweiser.
Not very long ago, Pigeon Forge was just a place that people drove through to get to the mountains before the developers and Dolly Parton got together in 1986. Then, the Department of Tourism created Winterfest a few years later. These visionaries took great personal and financial risks and were publicly criticized at the time. Now, even the skeptics are riding the bandwagon.
John F. Kennedy once joked, “Mothers may still want their favorite sons to grow up to be President, but they do not want them to become politicians in the process.” The reality is, Sevier County is fortunately within 500 miles from about 50% of the nation’s population. Geographically blessed, with liquor by the drink Sevierville has an excellent chance to become a major convention destination. Otherwise, our schools will have to continue to rely on increased property and counterproductive lodging taxes to survive. Consequently, like now, our grown children will be expected to choose between working for low wages here, or moving away to other places that understand the future exists beyond next weekend.
Henry Piarrot is a lodging manager in Sevier County,TN. Please send all story recommendations to hpiarrot@yahoo.com