Not Russia

Today is April 15th. Just like previous 4/15s, today is tax day. This one is unique because of the Tea Party Protests. There are varied opinions as to why folks are protesting, but most revolve around the massive spending that has occurred under the Obama administration. It would seem, however, that many protesters seem somewhat uneducated. Cries of socialism and reflections on the cold war abound.

Without Representation

What we’re seeing in the government now is not akin to what the original Boston Tea Party was about – both in fact and in myth. In 1773, the protests were related to Britain’s ability to tax the Americans without the Americans having any elected officials involved in the discussion. The spending that we’re seeing today is being done entirely by our own elected officials.

Socialists

While the Tea Parties have been described as grass roots movements, it’s become clear that large right wing political organizations such as Fox News and FreedomWorks are heavily promoting them. The powerful negativity towards socialism strikes me as particularly ironic. We have one of the least effective health care systems of any developed nation. While many fear that a government supported health care system would take us one step closer to being communist scum, folks seem to forget that we already have a lot of social services in place. What would our country look like if fire departments were entirely commercial? I suspect it might look a bit more burnt.

Pay For My House

There’s no doubt, a lot of people are angry right now. Unfortunately, I think many of these angry people are looking to their televisions and political parties for direction. Meanwhile, the politicians and the media networks they own are working an agenda to regain control of the system. I don’t expect that these angry people are going to realize that it is the system itself that is the problem.

I love the energy of people becoming motivated. I love the idea that folks went outside to speak their minds. I loath the notion that so much of what they’re speaking was programmed into their psychie while sitting in front of the idiot box we like to call a television.

When I first heard about the bailout of the financial industry, I was disappointed. When we started bailing out the auto industry, I felt even worse. However, I am fully aware and prepared for what would have happened had we not bailed them out. Our economy would be in far worse shape than it is today. We would have had hysteria across the country. I wonder how many of the Tea Party protestors are truly prepared for that world of chaos?

Right now is an interesting time to be alive. I invite the motivation to change; but we can not change in anger or hatred and hope for healthy growth. We can not look to those in power for leadership. We have to self-educate. We have to think for ourselves. We have to become realized, aware, and conscious of the world around us – all of it. We have to communicate and we have to share everything we know as fairly as we possibly can. We have to listen. We have to break cycles. We have to evolve.

Well, we don’t have to. I suppose we can choose to keep doing the same things over and over. We’re so stuck in the cycle, we couldn’t even come up with an original name for the protests. Meh…

Intro

The story behind marijuana and the law is long winded and rather upsetting. For a good overview, I recommend watching Grass. We somehow decided that alcohol and tobacco are ok, but pot is not? At the end of the day, it’s just a plant!

There’s little reason to preach anymore. I have a hard time finding people who think marijuana should be illegal. I’m sure there are DEA agents who would disagree (unemployment?!), but even law enforcement is starting to get behind a legalization movement. Well, some law enforcement. Derek would think otherwise.

My biggest concern is that my tax money is being spent to put people behind bars that I really don’t think should be there. Lives are destroyed because of marijuana laws. And I’m helping to pay for this? I feel dirty!

It seems that rallies and protests don’t really DO much anymore. So what would? I have an idea!

The Idea

The idea is a peaceful protest that sends a message. Only, the message is directed at those in jail, not the government itself.

We could use public records to build a list of people who’ve been put in jail for nothing more than Marijuana based crimes. Growers, dealers, whatever… so long as they didn’t slaughter a bus full of nuns.

Then we take the list and start by sending apology letters on behalf of concerned American citizens. We say, “look, we’re sorry you’re in the slammer and we’re actually paying for you to be there… we’re trying to get the laws changed but until we do, we wanted to at least let you know we’re thinking about it…”

As a step further, maybe folks would want to send gifts – comfort items. Bags of Cheese Puffs?

While the message would be directed towards inmates, I think it would send a bigger message of compassion. It’s a break away from the stereotypical “we’re going to march on Washington and show our anger” approach that obviously didn’t work.

I wouldn’t know where to start to organize something like this, but I would definitely contribute to such an effort. Maybe the folks at NORML could make it happen?