Constitution

The new congress convened today…the 112th.
With claims of honesty, integrity and returning the government to the people, this august group decided that one of its first priorities was to read “the entire” constitution.

Mountain Remnants in New Mexico  by rcw

Unfortunately, they did not.

What they did read was an “alternate” version, cutting out early amendments that were changed by later ones and knocking out certain words that might be deemed offensive.  Why?

Reading the document like that makes no sense.  It makes it sound like suddenly we citizens have the right to drink and so on….totally erasing the history that got us there.  Some folks might think this is no big thing, after all we are where we are now.  Some even consider the entire document as “old hat,” nothing more than a pretty piece of paper full of antiquated sentiment.

They are sadly mistaken.

The Constitution is a living, breathing, vibrant thing….relevant today as ever for not only its current additions, but for those earlier amendments as well because they show us where we were, the mistakes we overcame. Those things are important too.  We need to know our nation for its battle scars and imperfections, because these are a part of who we are and lend ideas for directions of where we want to go next.  Retaining them is an effort to protect us from our own natural ability to ignore experience and repeat mistakes.  After all, we are only human.

Another problem with this most recent reading was the very noticeable exclusion of a certain phrase which has been spoken since the passage was first written….I speak of the Presidential Oath of Office.

Some people may not have given it a second thought, but to me (and hopefully others) it stuck out like a huge, blaring red flag…..the exclusion?  The final phrase of the Oath itself….the one that reminds each President that they are NOT the end all and be all of power, that their trust is derived from something greater than themselves.  A simple phrase, more like a prayer really….

“So Help Me God.”

This four word sentence, spoken by our presidents down through the ages, has been made to fall by the way-side.  Why?

There’s a claim of Political Correctness, of not wishing to offend anyone…..but this doesn’t make sense.
Other nations are permitted to house their beliefs in their documents, unless of course they’ve gone through a social/governmental upheaval.  Then the founding language is scattered to the wind in favor of what is deemed “modern interpretation.”

Who does this serve, really?  The citizens?  How?  Denying them their history?  Doesn’t make sense to me.
We learn from our past.  If we erase our past, we are set on a collision course with the future rather than a smooth transition.  

As children, kids of my generation and older were  taught to learn from our mistakes.  We were taught to build on our past experiences…not repeating things that don’t work.  The only way we knew not to repeat the same mistakes was to remember what they were.  This was done through quizzes, homework, review.
I don’t know how children are being taught these days, but I have seen some of the more recent school books and am sorely baffled. History is no longer history…it’s been shifted and spun, turned inside out on itself like cotton candy.  Bright, colorful, sweet with no substance.  Okay for a circus treat, but as far as learning tools go there’s a great deal lacking, and what’s left has been filtered to reflect only certain points of view.

In some states, children are segregated into their heritage groups and taught only that history!  Like we’re training our kids to be segregationists!  Outrageously silly if wasn’t so scary.

Our country is in a state of  that silliness…dangerous, scary silliness.  And this new congress seems to be going along with this silly tide rather than changing course.

No, I am not in favor of doing away with rights that have been long fought for and won.  But I am in favor of restoring our founding documents to their true nature, and I am in favor of our nation becoming our nation again…rather than what is going on right now.

It’s a shame to have to say this, but this latest congress has yet to impress me with anything more than that old standard quote, brought to us by Pete Townsend of the Who:
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss….”     What a shame!

So for today, Fifty Five Is the New Constitution…and a prayer that we restore it to its intended state, complete with all imperfections, band aids and old-timey sentiment….because that’s who we really are, and it’s also the only way we’re really going to know where  we’re going next.

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10.10.10

Lunar Landscape Fractal  by rcw

Interesting date, October tenth, two thousand and ten….interesting enough to write it down.  Although I do have a question….October….root word “octo” means eight.  But looking at the calendar, it’s the tenth month of the year…wha hoppin?

There’s a lot of that sort of thing in human history; skewed dates, stretched facts, misnamed months.  Perhaps when the whole month notion first came about October was the eighth month.  Go figure.

Well, today’s entry is going to be brief….running around like crazy as usual but wanted to get a thought or two down.

So for today, Fifty Five Is The New 10.10.10 ….and us crazy humans, dragging our misnamed history with us as we go.

Emperor

Bumper Sticker Design by rcw

Cleaning up around the house, I ran across some of my old graphics files.  This is one I made for the medical cannabis movement.

A lot of people don’t realize that cannabis (a/k/a marijuana) was considered legal medicine for a very, very, very long time.  The American Medical Association was the last hold-out on denying it’s medicinal value.
I recommend the book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” by Jack Herrer, bless his soul.

THE book….a must read!

Jack spent the greater part of his life trying to educate the world and wrote what I believe is the definitive history of cannabis. By the time I met him, the book had been published already for several years and was in the midst of yet another revision to include new information…which at the time included all the Prop 215 information.

Any one interested in finding out more about him, just click this link:
http://www.jackherer.com

I’ve worked in the movement since the mid ’90s.  Jack and so many others have been at it all their lives, so I’m a relative “newbie.”  These other guys have been through the ringer.

They were on the front lines when a person could really get a life sentence for a joint, let alone a cannabis seed!  Can you imagine, not too many years ago….in this very country…people were incarcerated for such a thing.

Well…a lot of people are still in prison from those charges of that long ago and should be released.  Personally I believe that a majority of the marijuana offenders should be released….the old laws were a form of legalized brutality. We’ve come a long way since then..and still have a long way to go! 

I am amazed that we’ve politicized cannabis as much as we have in our society, and hope that enough people read Jack’s book so they can help right the wrongs and restore the lives the bad laws helped destroy.

For today, Fifty Five Is The New Emperor….Jack Herrer….friend, warrior, activist.

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