Glassman’s Liberal Drinking Makes Mothers MADD

This landed in the Tucson Weekly’s mailbag recently (and, judging by the list of email addresses in the ‘To:’ field, that of about every media outlet in southern Arizona) [all bold emphasis is mine, i.e. the underlining is original]:

April 27, 2008

SHAME on YOU MADD Pima
County,

As
past volunteers/board members, we question the honor of speaker at
the annual Candlelight Vigil going to Mr. Rodney Glassman, Tucson
City Council Member, Ward 2. Mr. Glassman has a strong association
with the alcohol industry, restaurant association and has attended
meetings of the Drinking Liberally Tucson Club (Promoting democracy
one pint at a time.)  He does not reflect MADD’s mission to
stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and to
stop under-age drinking. He has never been a part of MADD Pima
County.  We, as volunteers, are well aware that office politics and
personal feelings probably played a part in the selection of Mr.
Glassman. We feel a person who has contributed to MADD’s
mission or who has been an advocate for crime victims would have been
a more appropriate choice. Mr. Glassman is an unfortunate choice.

We
do hope the victims who attend the Candlelight Vigil will receive the
comfort, unity and support they so sorely need.

We
sincerely sign this,

Sylvia
Crook, Past-President, MADD Pima Co. & MADD State Board
Representative
Susan
K. Smith, Past-President,  MADD Pima Co.
Mary
Robertson, Past-Vice-President,  MADD Pima Co & MADD State Board
Representative
Isla
Jacobs, volunteer photographer

Shame on them? That seems a bit strong.

I have the highest regard and admiration for the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They have undertaken the herculean task of changing our culture, and our public policy, to stamp out a terribly harmful and dangerous practice—and to a laudable and beneficial degree, they’ve succeeded. Their efforts to protect our roads and our citizens have saved countless lives and averted untold suffering. In my estimation, they deserve a Nobel Peace Prize, at the very least.

But for the members of such a righteous organization, the line between genuinely righteous and self-righteous is always perilously obscure. Allow me suggest that a few otherwise well-intentioned folks might have wandered over it here.

I don’t know about all the other reasons they mention for finding Rodney "unfortunate," though I think that were we to condemn as "unfortunate" everyone associated with the restaurant industry, we would be unfairly blackening the names of many good, upstanding people. What I do know, however, is that their knock on Rodney for attending Drinking Liberally is deeply unfair and misguided.

First, Mothers, it’s not Liberally as in ‘Lots’—it’s Liberally as in ‘with Liberal people and Liberal minds.’ I suppose I should be grateful that these MADD Mothers thoughtfully included our slogan, "Promoting democracy one pint at a time," but somehow I think they did so as some sort of indictment. Maybe they didn’t get the memo on our implied caveat, "spaced over a reasonable period of time and always in moderation."

Let me be perfectly clear: Drinking Liberally does not promote, condone, excuse, nor tolerate driving while intoxicated. It is an issue on which we promote awareness and responsible behavior. Every communication with our members includes a reminder not to drink and drive and to use designated drivers. We promote the healthy, responsible and immoderate enjoyment of democracy, while coincidentally enjoying the responsible and moderate use of perfectly legal beverages by responsible adults.

It is sad that these particular MADD Mothers apparently see any use of alcohol, no matter how responsible and moderate, as a character defect that might make one "unfortunate,"  and unfit to give proper support to the victims of drunk drivers. I certainly don’t believe that to be the case, and I don’t think most people would agree with them.

It is in the nature of people engaged in a great and just crusade to see any association with their nemesis as somehow tainted or suspect. I fear that these particular Mothers have fallen prey to this vice of the virtuous. I feel quite sure that, given some actual exposure to the institution of Drinking Liberally and the values we promote and embody, they would not think so ill of us as to attempt to tar the reputation of a good man by his association with us.

Thus, I would like to invite these leading Mothers of MADD to come to Drinking Liberally, share their message and mission with our members, and in turn learn more about our organization. Perhaps in the future, they will reconsider using a perfectly innocent and responsible organization (albeit one with a fun and easily mischaracterized name) as an aspersion.

If Rodney deserves condemnation as "unfortunate" for associating with Drinking Liberally, so do a large fraction of the office-holders and politicians of southern Arizona on both sides of the aisle, including every member of the Tucson City Council (save the Mayor), who have joined their fellow citizens at Drinking Liberally—and none of whom support, promote, nor tolerate the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol. I certainly don’t, and Drinking Liberally certainly doesn’t, and I find it more than a little offensive that it be publicly intimated that Drinking Liberally—and by association myself— does so, no matter how obliquely.

I hope that these Mothers of MADD will accept my invitation and meet some of the hundreds of wonderful people who participate in Drinking Liberally in Tucson, not to mention the many thousands around the nation, all of whom they have unfairly maligned. Not to mention Rodney—whom I certainly hope we’ll see at Drinking Liberally many times in the future.