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June 22, 2009
Paradoxes in the News
As my recent posts on the Lynch case show, I’ve become considerably more critical of Obama for the outright dishonesty of his “Justice” Department in its handling of medical marijuana cases in California than anything he has (or hasn’t) said about fraudulent elections in Iran. In fact, my personal choice of low point among Obama’s many video moments is still his derisive snicker at the idea that taxing pot might be a fix for the budget crisis. Why? Certainly not because I thought the suggestion had merit, but because I’d hoped Obama knew better; also because his answer suggests a mindset I now recognize as one that will prove difficult to correct.To return to Iran: for me, the very issue illustrates why conservatives tend to oversimplify complex situations; it allows them to blame others for any adverse consequences of their “faith-based” convictions while also tending to absolve them from any responsibility for similar consequences. Also, their frequent references to faith and religion reinforce the notion that they are on the side of good and that the “godless” liberals and atheists they have designated as sworn enemies should not be trusted.
It has also helped their cause that the most flamboyant pot smokers often come out of the closet early, while the those with the most to lose have tended to remain anonymous during life.
Thus does the pot our president once got high on, but had to quit to realize his political ambitions, remain more “evil” than the tobacco he still struggles with (not quite) out of sight.
On a more personal level, that our profile of pot use has elicited so disproportionately few comments is both annoying and a confirmation of the denial America's (stupid) pot policy has been thriving on.
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at June 22, 2009 06:30 PM