E-Mail to the President on the "Beer Summit"

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Sent to President Barack Obama on July 31, 2009:

Dear Mr. President:

Let me begin by sharing that I not only voted for you, but switched from being an independent to a Democrat to support you in the primary. I have looked forward to your presidency with great hope, and for the most part, I have not been disappointed.

That said, I am dismayed by the example you set during the episode involving Henry Louis Gates and Sergeant James Crowley. A friendly meeting among four men was indeed a good way to help quell the firestorm over the episode. It was also a good way to create a national discussion on race issues. However, having this discussion over beers and highlighting this so much in the media, to the point of revealing the brands of beer, was irresponsible.

I realize that you and most Americans do not see the harm in this, but alcohol is the dangerous and addictive drug, more so than many illegal drugs, that ruins lives, kills men and women, and shatters families. Your choice in playing up the beer aspect of this meeting sent a message to adults and children alike that sitting down for beers is a way to solve one's problems. It also gave the alcohol industry some free advertising, and I don't think that that is an industry you want to prop up when you are campaigning for health-care reform. One thing driving up health-care costs is the ill effects of obesity, heart disease, and cirrhosis from alcohol abuse. And, as a recovering alcoholic, I know first-hand that alcohol is something that exacerbates problems between two people, not quells them.

I am not saying that grown men and women, who do not have a problem stopping at one or two drinks a day, should cease having a drink. However, as president, you have to be very careful of the message you send. There are not only adults watching you, but their wide-eyed, impressionable children as well, and you do not want to foster in them the idea that "beer is the norm," or a way to relax or dampen flared tempers. They are getting that idea from commercials, the entertainment industry, and the poor examples set by some of their parents plenty enough already; they don't need it from you.

Please note that the tone of this e-mail does not reflect my overall opinion of you. I plan to write more when something moves me, and hopefully, it will all be positive. Thank you for reading, and I wish you the best in getting the health-care-reform bill passed.
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