The 18th Amendment is all about choice, or more to the point, the lack of one. Once the law went into effect, the American people were abdicating their ability to drink. Well, not totally. There were loopholes, even in a law as short as this one, but the whole purpose was an attempt to remove the option to buy intoxicating drinks. How important that option was depended entirely on the individual. For people who could take or leave alcohol it was no big deal, but for others it was the end of everything good, an assault against liberty.
This was the first time in history that the Constitution had been amended to take away a right rather than guarantee one. Considering that every human society throughout history had produced and enjoyed alcoholic beverages, it was a Very. Big. Deal.
Questions About Choice
- Does the Constitution have a right to curtail rights at all? Should it be amended to prevent this kind of thing in the future?
- Prohibition was largely considered a failure. What makes it different from other forms of prohibition, such as for drugs, firearms, or other illegal items? Should the Constitution be amended for them as well?
- Is the existence of the 21st Amendment a tacit admission of the idea that the Constitution shouldn't be changed at all? Or is it a triumph of the entire purpose of the Constitution, showing that mistakes can be corrected?
- Did Prohibition truly create modern organized crime, or did the criminals merely latch onto a convenient product?
Chew on This
The epic failure of the 18th Amendment is proof that prohibition doesn't work. Time to legalize everything, and though we might get a short Mad Max period of adjustment, we're going to be better in the long run.
Prohibition was government overreach. When people talk about tyranny, this is what they mean.