O-o-h Child
Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child, things'll be brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll put it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
~The Five Stairsteps~
As the boat turned and spun I cranked up my Ipod to drown out the hollow reverberations of tourist babble, the song "O-o-h Child" by the Five Stairsteps lightly siphoned into my eardrums and reminded me to think positive. My thoughts once again drifted toward marijuana legalization and where it's at. It isn't enough to be opposed to something, but one must stand for something, hopefully something that creates a solution instead of a polarizing antithesis. The world is in need of highly motivated thinkers that are solution oriented not more social critics. People generally know what's wrong with the world, but how many work hard on behalf of solutions? How many people today are willing to not just openly criticize governments but highlight the possibilities that are inherent in all of our choices both good and bad?
Isn't that a flaw that is inherent in our struggle to have the rest of the world, if not accept, but understand our marijuana usage? Many of my friends that use cannabis turn their noses up to law enforcement and greater society because they oppose its use but offer little in the way of advancing understanding beyond their individual right to smoke. When I look at everything that's wrong with societies all around the world, the daily struggle of the average man, human rights and most importantly environmental issues it becomes all too clear to me that there are more things in the world than just weed. If we could somehow piggyback our cause onto something everyone could identify with like the environment maybe we might be taken a bit more seriously.
I would liken this issue to running around a burning house trying to find your car keys instead of trying to get out to save your life. The world is on fire with critical life threatening issues, we need to see this and react appropriately. I believe it's vitally import that our community not only organize for protests and marches but come together to examine our use of the sacred plant. Too many smokers are just out for themselves and could care a less about the impact of their actions. How many smokers did I see in the Dam that were utterly stupefied by their weed and as a consequence acted like complete buffoons, more than a few; behavior that prompts the Dutch people to post a lot warnings about the dangers of excessive cannabis use. All of this reflects poorly on us as a community, and this is in a country that views marijuana as essentially a harmless release. Imagine what many closed minded Americans think?
We smokers aren't powerless we can come together and responsibly discuss these issues and maybe craft a code of proper conduct. If others saw we were equally as outraged as they are about marijuana abuses, society might listen more intently to our appeals, just maybe...
In all of my thinking I didn't even hear the boat slowly motor up to the dock. I quickly assisted a group of Italians snap a group photo, left the boat, and headed back into the City looking for Coffeeshops. The plan for the next day would be a look into the Red Light District and I wanted to be nice and budded when I did that.