History of Alcohol

Now that's an attention grabber! LOL I read several blogs and one blog posted a litany of opinion (which I totally respect their right to) about the outrage they felt about the picture of President Obama drinking a beer at a basketball game. A poll was conducted and 60 % of their readers did not have a problem with it, but the blogger did. I totally understand but happen to disagree.
Being an absolute nutty lover of all things history, I just felt the need to share. Alcohol has actually been referred to as our country's FIRST pasttime. Not baseball. It is widely known and accepted that our founding fathers actually wrote our most important documents (or IDEAS thereof) such as The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution while imbibing at their favorite local tavern. Alcohol was not a social stigma UNLESS you couldn't mind your P's & Q's (Pints and Quarts). George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (two of our biggies) owned distilleries of fine whiskey AND both loved beer and wine. Martin VanBuren and Franklin Pierce had "issues" with alcohol, just to name a few. These all occured while serving as President of the United States. Now granted we didn't have many photo-ops of the day but hey, they drank a little. I agree it's the highest office in the land BUT I would hazard a guess that most enjoyed a glass or two while in office...they just hid it in a cup.
Obama apparently felt the need to be more open. Or maybe he just didn't know any better. Who knows? What exactly the problem is I do not know. Maybe the lights are just a little brighter and harsher these days. I realize that we have all sorts of moral issues front and center, but history is FULL of these moral issues. This is nothing new. Yes, we may very well be going to hell in a handbasket but have a little perspective. It's a great big world and it is full of wonderful, good things that just don't get as much airtime as our President sipping a beer. And who's to say it wasn't an O'Douls? George W. Bush was photographed while he was our President at a G-8 summit pouring a beer into a glass. It was an O'doul's but somebody took the time to find out, and the only reason that would matter is he is a teetotaller. FYI: O'doul's has alcohol in it. A very small percentage but it is NOT alcohol free.
If you would like to read more, or discover more, about the history of our country and our Presidents PLEASE check out ANY book from the library. It is the MOST reliable source of ACCURATE written word.
Also, a neat little book titled "The Spirits of America" by Eric Brown will give you insight on the history of alcohol and the quite large role it plays in our history.
I just know this....I actually feel sorry for our children and grandchildren. Not for the reasons you might think. Our world is a much smaller place than it was when I was growing up. Nothing is hidden. Nothing is wondrous. Everything is given a negative connotation by somebody somewhere and they have the tools to spread...the internet. We are global. Instead of bonding us together, it seems to be spreading us apart. NAHHHHH....I still feel that the world is a wonderful place and I am thankful that the good Lord above has allowed me to live here at this exact moment in history with these people. Think about it..we were put on this Earth at this time for His reason. Pretty deep. How could you NOT love it??
OK, that's my little history lesson for the day. Forgive me. Later......