While driving down East Broad Street last night, I saw a very interesting sign that was held by a young man who was screaming at the top of his lungs at oncoming traffic and at pedestrians near College Square. It said “DRUNKENNESS IS A SIN.”

This, of course, is not the first time that religious nut jobs have invaded downtown Athens. They seem to flock to college towns to tell us we are all going to Hell blah blah blah and try to persuade the masses that drinking is evil, blah, blah, blah. They did it when I was in school at South Carolina and I am sure they go to every other college in the nation, too.

But see this sign coupled with a conversation I had with my best friend (who, for the record, doesn’t drink at all and never has) a few weeks ago got me thinking about beer in general.

With apologies to the children’s teasing rhyme:

Oconee Commissioners sitting in a tree
They’re V-O-T-I-N-G
First comes wine and then comes beer
Then comes liquor to bring folks cheer

The prospect of having hard liquor sold by the drink in Oconee is one of the fears expressed by people who voiced their opposition to selling beer and wine by the drink in Oconee County restaurants.

The Oconee County Commission approved by a vote of 3-2 serving beer and wine in restaurants in the unincorporated areas of the county. Modeled on a similar law passed last year in Watkinsville, the Oconee County law is scheduled take effect Aug. 1, though the first license isn’t likely to be approved until Aug. 5, when the commission holds its monthly voting session. The commissioners could get a flood of permits. Will commissioners cast the same 3-2 votes for license approvals?

What it is with this state and booze? Seriously, America tried Prohibition … remember from 1919 to 1933, which arguably gave rise to organized crime and bootlegging?

Anyway, according to Gov. Sonny Perdue (see Friday’s editorial page), if the General Assembly passes the Sunday sales bill, Georgia roads will become unsafe on that particular day of the week.

He throws out a bunch of numbers from a study done in New Mexico about how counties that allowed Sunday sales had higher vehicle wreck rates. Now, those numbers are difficult to dispute. But I do have one question. Do you see the words “alcohol-related crash victims” in the next paragraph?

From Perdue’s column: “The study found that legalizing Sunday packaged alcohol sales ‘exacts a significant price that is paid by crash victims and their loved ones, health care providers, insurers, law enforcement and the judicial systems.’ ”

A nice cabernet would be my guess.

Maybe it’s because I wasn’t raised in the South. Maybe it’s because I was raised Catholic. Maybe it’s because alcohol wasn’t a taboo in my house. But I just don’t understand the connection between a county’s quality of life and not selling alcohol.

The Oconee County Commission will soon vote on a beer and wine ordinance and some county residents are once again speaking out against said ordinance. I understand that they don’t want bars in their county. That’s fine. There are more than enough bars in Athens to serves the tri-county area. But not wanting to have a glass of wine with a nice dinner is beyond me.

I haven’t heard it so much in this debate, but I have heard in previous ones that selling alcohol will somehow ruin the quality of life in Oconee. I guess this argument comes from the same group of people who once said that rock ‘n’ roll was the devil’s music.