I was so busy with life, predictable relatives and unpredictable customs, and the occasional quips of drunks; and proposals for resolutions made then would have meant that I would be deaf, blind, and dumb. I figure I’d just reinforce my truck and make a few remarks about alcohol – I pray no one gets drunk and runs me over before the end of the month.
Last month, I was invited to attend the unveiling of an angel at a site where an innocent child was killed – a victim of an intoxicated person who, for whatever reason, had decided to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.I was moved, not by the unveiling of the statue, but by the sheer number of people who were present at the site. It really did look as if everyone in Palau was represented, as the statue was unveiled. I saw children, mothers, fathers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, nurses, statisticians, governors, politicians, nobles, foreigners, the media, and the curious. The number of Senators and Delegates – incumbent and new-elects – who laughed, clapped, and even cried as the event progressed, particularly impressed me.I am almost certain that they laughed at the current laws that pertain to alcohol consumption, clapped for “the will” of the people that has been raised by a tragedy, and cried because a simple resolution could have saved Dewill and prevented those before him from unnecessary harm.I feel for Joe and Rumy and all those who have lost loved ones because someone lost control of his or her faculties after consuming alcohol – the single most effective poisonous consumer product that politicians have allowed to be imported legally into Palau. I am guessing that the tax earned from the sale of the product is worth more than the lives sacrificed.I think it is about time that Palau bans alcohol importation once and for all – no exemptions. I hope the members of the next legislative body introduces bills – not to amend existing laws that pertain to alcoholic beverages or liquor, the appropriate time for bars and cabarets to close, drunk driving, underage drinking, disorderly conducts, and so forth – but ban alcohol from getting into Palau. I am not an extremist, but this has gone on for far too long. I am sick tired of the debates, studies, research, testimonies, and the eloquent excuses. People are needlessly dying. It is as simple as that. Alcohol kills! If you drink, you ought to be exported. I just do not want you to run over my relatives and then have the nerve to tell me that you were drunk and didn’t know what you were doing – worse, the government might take your side and you would be charged for involuntary manslaughter. When is it going to be voluntary? This is my testament to Dewill. I will not volunteer any more of my relatives, friends, and pets to be slaughtered. Puke and stop the drinking!
