The State can’t stop stupidity

The completely unavoidable death of 19-year-old George Holland was an unmitigated tragedy and is – or should be – a caution to us all, but I find the coroner’s remarks to be most unhelpful.

His answer to the problem of drunk driving is to raise the drinking age, in the misguided assumption that this would actually deter underage people from buying liquor. It would not, and never has done (this from a 70-year-old who first purchased a beer in a bar at age 17).

Does the coroner seriously believe punishing the sensible majority who drink responsibly will prevent the stupid minority from being foolish? In support of this, the coroner notes that ‘‘in the absence of drivers applying common sense it [is] incumbent on the State to further restrict access to alcohol’’.

This remark simply serves to illustrate the naive but widespread assumption that the State can legislate against stupidity, negligence, and pigheadedness.

The sooner legislative authorities realise that the answers to the problems of excessive drinking are not legislative but cultural, and can only be given through cultural rather than legislative change, the sooner we may hear some common sense from their august benches.

Sadly, cultural change is very difficult, and it is not in the hands of the few, but of the many.

Stephen Symons, Christchurch Central