Back on Aug. 1, 1985, my late first wife and I were enjoying celebrating our first child’s very first birthday in our home located on F.E. Warren Air Force Base just outside Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was a pleasant day that ended in a spectacular storm. Heck, it was a terrifying storm, with hail the size of peaches falling for two hours, and flood waters measured in feet high rushing through the city. As we hid in our basement from the various tornadoes that were in the area, twelve unlucky people were sadly killed.

That total would have been higher had it not been for the true heroism of several of my fellow missile-launch officers. At the height of the storm, they left their apartment in town and came upon a number of panicking people trapped in a grove of trees that had become an island in the rushing torrents of flood waters. My buddies broke into a nearby construction site, powered up a front-end loader, drove it into the rushing waters and rescued several otherwise doomed people. They later received one of the highest peacetime medals given by the military, an honor well-earned.

But what motivated them to leave their apartment during the truly scary storm? Well, um… they ran out of beer, and decided to make a beer run.

I bring up this story of heroism and beer because a recent Colorado Politics story reminded me of that long ago night (Ed: can’t wait to see where this is going…).

You see, there are several ballot measures coming to our November ballots, and CP is publishing a series of stories explaining to voters what those proposals are and what they would do. This week’s story explains three, including Initiative 122, which would legalize the delivery of alcohol by third-party services like DoorDash and Lyft. Had that service been available in 1985, heck, the guys might have stayed in and just ordered a 12-pack be delivered (Ed: oh, now I see).

Even though I don’t imagine I’ll ever take advantage of such deliveries (I’ve never even done a DoorDash), my libertarian streak pops up and wonders why we shouldn’t allow such deliveries (assuming, of course, that proper measures are taken to prevent any underage purchases)? Not surprisingly, there is big money behind this proposal, with DoorDash alone kicking in $3.3 million to support passage.

In addition to 122, Initiative 121 is on the ballot and would allow grocery stores to sell wine in addition to beer and such. Growing up in Michigan, grocery stores always had a wine row, so I’m not quite sure why that isn’t the law everywhere.

Lastly, Initiative 96 would allow a liquor store that has a single license to operate in a particular location to gradually expand the number of licenses in coming years, allowing such shops to expand into new locations under the same liquor license it had for the first location.

Not surprisingly, there is opposition, and it is led by the cleverly named “Keeping Colorado Local” group, that is funded by the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association (who oppose all three measures) and several liquor stores.  It isn’t a surprise that liquor stores would oppose grocery store wine sales, as that is money taken directly out of their pockets. And if I owned a liquor store, I suspect I’d earnestly oppose the proposals. But, as a regular old Coloradan, I rather like the idea of making life more convenient, be it via picking up a bottle of wine when I buy my groceries, or be it being able to have a beer sent along with my takeout from Red Robin (note: that is not a paid endorsement, but I really love the Whisky River BBQ Burger there).

As I oft said, most everyone has a libertarian streak, and baring a good reason yet to be put forward, I don’t understand why there should be artificial limits placed on where and how I can buy legal products (again, assuming that proper age verification is taking place). Heck, I’d support marijuana sales in grocery stores, given that pot is legal here, but I suspect that is a bridge too far for quite a few more years.

Now as a matter of principle, I oppose the existence of things like these initiatives. I believe in a republican (small “r,” of course) form of government, wherein we elect people to study, explore and ultimately legislate the rules of society. Just as I want an expert doctor (and not a majority opinion in a poll) to decide what’s right when I have a pain in my belly, I want elected legislators who have the time and expertise to do deep dives on these proposals to make decisions based on their expert analysis. These voter referendums inevitably end up as popularity contests, and can often merely reflect the amount of money spent in support or opposition, rather than the actual merits of the arguments involved.

But until we get rid of such ballot measures, I will continue to pay attention to initiatives on the ballot, and I hope you will too.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.