sadly a familiar storyline in the United States for far too long. Liberal gun laws, a deadlock between right wing activists and the US senate have facilitated a spate of horrors, the worst of which happened when a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 kids and 6 adults.
When the gruesome news hit television, the average Goan must have undoubtedly responded with heartfelt sorrow, anger and outrage at the fact that the US govt continues to sell assault rifles in supermarkets, while parents laid their 6-yr-old angels to rest. But are we all that different from our obviously retarded western neighbours? What their liberals have rationalised as the hard earned right to bear arms and end life without a second thought is mirrored here in this blessed Utopia called Goa.
Our weapon of choice is vice; cheap alcohol is the dreaded AK47 of the east, on sale in bulk to every trigger happy, gung ho, deviant tough guy wannabe, all done on holy soil for pete’s sake! I know I’ve just painted a bigger target on my head than the one on our Hon. Chief Ministers’ but I honestly can’t be the only one who sees this! Sure, alcohol “livens” up a party and inspires a tiny percentage of us to undertake creative pursuits but an overwhelming majority of problems our state suffers have their roots in substance abuse. Tourists scrape together a few bucks and mosey down for weekly drinking binges, gleefully making the most of our once sacred land, while our youth fall prey to addictions in consequence.
We Goans need to think fast, and make a 10-yr plan to gradually wean our economy off the double edged sword of cheap booze tourism and insightfully and selflessly develop alternatives for generations of niz goenkars to come. If we continue to willfully neglect to care for our priceless Goa by choosing to put on a gin soaked blindfold, without a doubt, we are guaranteeing the collective devolution and unconditional surrender of our most important asset; Divine favour.
