When I think of freedom, I imagine standing over green Kentucky hills while a strong pollenated breeze sweeps my skin as I watch the falling sunset stoned as a bug. That kind of moment, and I have them occasionally, puts a smile on my face and reminds me to be thankful for the freedom to experience peace in my world. Many people on this Earth don't ever get to have one of my moments. Judgement, persecution, black booted thugs, hunger, war, oppression, and subjugation are not my fault. The universe made the first move a long time ago and then God made man and gave them what his angels had not - free will. Right? It seems free will was a major reason for god's experiment. How would his creation behave when faced with the separate choices of good and evil? Angels have to be good, demons have to be bad. That's why both sides resent us so.

Anyway, humans survived their early collective choices and began to build societies, good and bad throughout history and no matter what, we are a sum of those choices sometimes made by a powerful few. I think our founding fathers wanted to protect us from that type of tyranny in a government. Jefferson knew that an individuals' freedom made the collective stronger. A country of free, educated, responsible people can never be beaten by a despotic regime or fascist party. Therefore the idea of freedom was transformed into rights so it could be more easily understood and relatable to the people. In general Freedom seems simple but the concept of freedom is pretty heavy and comes attached to another concept which still eludes many so-called free people - Responsibility. Some see acting responsibly as a religious virtue but it is a universal one and between choosing good or bad we mostly make a good choice that collectively gets added into the balance of things and these collective choices have consequences on how people learned to live with each other in peace for the most part. Being responsible is good for the universe, good for society and even better for the individual. Being responsible helps define our purpose of achievement with the final reward being a job well done. Now the flip side is that man will choose the dark side of things and act out against the peace and order. This leads us to the rule of law and laws were imposed because irresponsible people wanted THEIR type of freedom and unrestrained freedom, which is not creative or revolutionary, can cause big trouble to the cogs of society. Now that last statement was a big generalization on the excesses of human behavior but there is also a difference between an idiot irresponsible person breaking the law and sinister rich well-to do's schemes of using laws to subjugate and oppress others. Most the time, the powers that be for the worse want to suppress freedom. Even Today. It seems our freedoms are being turned from rights to licenses. It does seem that the very country which represents the idea of freedom to the rest of the world is becoming a more "Sure you're free as long as we can watch you" society. Today I bought a pack of cigs and they scanned my license. There is something wrong with that. But, I still have my freedom to buy my cigarettes, like I have a right (freedom) to buy beer too, as long as I have a license.

What a minute. Where is my choice when it comes to purchasing what I want to relax with? What choice do I have other than alcohol? Nothing. In Kentucky there is no legal alternative or freedom of choice when it comes to what vice I wish to relax with. Most American are coming to the conclusion that there is a better choice than alcohol for relaxation and having a good time. An alternative which will not kill you by directly taking too much, one which is less abusable and physically safer and one which won't make you a violent proto-human. I am talking about cannabis of course. Anyway, let’s go back to what I said about the powers that be for the worse. They have a lot invested in the way they want the world to run and if something like a free-thinking motivational drug which could be grown by the masses were to take hold the monopoly on the only legal vice, alcohol, would become less profitable for them along with many other things. Free, educated and cooler people may think of better ways to run the world than the current stewards' corrupt institutions which seek to control the public interest. I'm not interested in following laws I know are wrong and go against my God-given right to act upon my free will in a responsible manner. I'm not interested in a government policy that uses laws to oppress and ruin people's lives over something as subjective as smoking a plant which God in his wisdom put here in the first place. I AM interested in my lack of freedom because most others are not. It's funny how Americans these days like being told what to do. They don't want to, don't care, or are too close-minded to use their free will. It's like they don't want it or the responsibility that comes with it and find it easier to live in an unreal fantasy sold to them on TV commercials and celebrity news. I can't help these people but because of their numbers and misguided sense of righteousness I am denied my right to happiness.

I smoke cannabis responsibly and in my own house, in a basement room called the Bat cave. My wife is a paralegal and I have two great kids. I've held and grown my career at the same company for over 10 years, hold two degrees and I smoke pot every day because I always have. Just like anyone who has a drink or two or more every night. I wish the people would learn to respect mine and others' right to smoke cannabis if we choose because we as Americans should stick up for each other when any of our freedoms are diminished, taken away or corrupted against us.

Thank you for reading this.

Commander Red

#editorial