J is for Jameson Whiskey
“If By Whiskey” Noah S. Sweat, Mississippi, 1948
Although Prohibition had been repealed, it was still a big political issue in Mississippi in 1948, when Noah Sweat was campaigning for the office of state representative in Alcorn County. So Sweat gave a speech intended to appeal to both sides of the issue. He won the election, and went on to serve as prosecutor and eventually Judge of the First Judicial District.
My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary. I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey.
If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.
But;
If when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman’s step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life’s great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, and dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.
This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.
-Noah S. Sweat, 1948
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I won’t say anything about the politician, but I enjoy Jameson (almost as much as a single malt Scotch…)
What a great ‘J’ post this is… and as I’ve drunk many a glass/bottle of Jameson ‘Irish’… I can only tell you just what a nice smooth whiskey this is. If you’ve not yet trid it… seek it out.. :O)
Mine’s Here
what a great post! so meaningful in this world today!
Yummi, me like :-)Cheers
Noah Sweat was a very diplomatic person! How clever to deliver such a speech! Good post and nice story!
nice post for “J”
Excellent post and photograph. Thanks.
Ray
Interesting post but for me it’s the Jack Daniels I need to accompany it.
Nice J post…. mine’s up HERE.
What a thought-provoking post. Thanks, Ellen! 🙂
I think Noah Sweat and I feel exactly the same way about whiskey. Great post!
I, too, enjoy Jameson whiskey! (There, now I’ve gone and shocked a bunch of people! heheheh)
I like Noah’s stand.
You’ve got to love that quote! What a guy ol’ Noah must have been!
Very interesting quote indeed! Thanks for sharing!
Very interesting quote.
Good research.
Bear((( )))
ok, somebody shoot me….but he sounds a lot like Obama…………………………………
very cool J post!!
Both sides well represented here. I dont tend to drink it, but when I do it is with ice and ginger!
I’m with Noah too. Cheers!
A la vôtre !
Santé.
Ska°l
What a perfect speech. If only I could learn to take both sides of every issue as well as he did.
Over ice please!
fascinating. there’s just something about whiskey…