Legalize! Why it’s time to end Nixon’s legacy
Richard Nixon is far from one of the more popular presidents in U.S. history, and it’s not likely we’ll be making room for him on Mt. Rushmore anytime soon. Having been caught spying on his political enemies, Mr. Nixon was forced to resign from office, and is the only President to ever have to do so. While Watergate was the climax of public outrage over his controversial habits, he had made a strong career in politics after World War II by manipulating people’s negative emotions (McCarthyism) instead of relying on debate tools such as facts or supporting evidence. This racially-charged, paranoia-driven warhawk of a Quaker somehow managed to find himself leading the world’s largest military superpower.
So how does this disgraced president fit into the grand scheme of our daily lives? Right now, despite our dire economy and record unemployment, we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars every year to continue a failing crusade against drugs, primarily marijuana. And despite the public outrage over the moral indecency in Richard Nixon’s political practices, the drug war continues to administer his distorted sense of justice.
We brainwash our kids.
If it’s one thing I hate, it’s propaganda. Manipulating the emotions of your audience in order to con them into believing a weak argument is despicable, and thus I wasn’t the only Millennial to grow up weary of anything the government passes off as truth. I never had the privilege of having a locker-to-locker marijuana salesman in my middle school (see video below), but as I grew older, I started to recognize that these public service announcements relied more on sensationalism than conveying truth. In an inevitable teenage rebellion against the world, I eventually tried smoking marijuana. It didn’t take me long to determine that a majority of what I was taught in the D.A.R.E. program was bullshit.
If you visited the D.A.R.E. website today, you would find a sparse page on marijuana, consisting of 119 total words. Furthermore, it takes the stance of not recognizing any medical applications of marijuana (supporting it’s federal classification as a Schedule I drug). Perhaps it’s time we stopped having drug education come from people who have an economic incentive for the drug war to keep failing. Indoctrinating children with the “horrors” of marijuana is more damaging for our society than skipping evolution in science class. Behold the real horror of the Drug War: this SWAT raid in Columbus, MO turned up two grams of marijuana and cost the lives of this family’s dogs. Heart wrenching? Definitely. Sensationalist? Absolutely! Real? Unfortunately.
We’re making money on hypocrisy
The video below (WATCH IT) sums up too many amazing points to recap, but the key takeaway here is that as we’re spending ourselves into the ground, organized crime is thriving. This country has spent half of the past 40 years failing at trying to stop people from relaxing the way they want to. In doing so, we’ve created an outrageously profitable industry for actual criminals, while we pay companies to continuously build prisons to lock up copious amounts of (otherwise) law-abiding marijuana smokers.
Over time, people noticed the trend of minorities disproportionately being incarcerated for marijuana arrests, as our current drug laws reflect their racist origin. A century of propaganda has made America forget that our roots are made of hemp, as marijuana is once again our nation’s number one cash crop, despite being illegal. The most supreme of hypocrisy is that we have presidents who would be incarcerated if they were held to the same standards as black youths.
This is the reality
A Brighter Tomorrow?
California is poised to make world history, as it is looking at becoming the first place on the earth to fully legalize marijuana. By doing so, the state would also be thumbing their nose at the federal government’s failed 40-year attempt at marijuana prohibition.
A Survey USA poll done on April 20, 2010 found that support for marijuana legalization in California among blacks was at 67%, which was the highest level of any major ethnic group in the sample. Whites were second with 59%, followed by Asians at 58% and Hispanics at 45%. Most shocking in these numbers was that 75% of people surveyed under the age of 34 felt Marijuana should be legalized. There is a clear correlation between younger generations being more supportive of marijuana law reform. A Gallup poll on legalization released last year also supports the fact that Generation Y is most likely to favor marijuana legalization. It should be noted that despite the miasmatic state of the Californian economy, the medical marijuana industry has been booming.
California will also be embracing an already booming industry, and open the various non-recreational uses of the original American staple crop to modern (dare I say Gen Y) entrepreneurs.
It would truly be poetic if the same state that gave us Nixon’s political career was the first in implementing safeguards against his flawed legacy. One thing is for certain: support for the costly and ineffectual drug war is dying as the younger generations gain political power, and soon we may just solve the drug problem – all we need is logic and reason.
Photos by legalizefreedom (top) and cracked.com (bottom)
Read the other perspective: Keep weed illegal! Here’s why
This is a really great post. Very factual. Very well thought out. And not at all “I just wanna party, man” like most of our generation’s reasoning for marijuana legalization.
Thank you, that was exactly how I was hoping to be recieved
Nixon was such a tool. And I agree with everything else you wrote too…
I may have just snorted at that “Nixon was a tool” statement. Loudly. At my computer. At work. (What? It was funny!)
Well-written story, by the way.
Thanks! (as well as discovering my infamy with the Nixonites)
What Caitlin and Alex said.
Insightful and well-written post, Scott. I had no idea how out of hand government expenditures on the drug war have become. You did a great job gathering all these statistics to make your point. I don’t smoke marijuana, but I’ve never had anything against those who did. And like Caitlin said, it’s nice to see an intelligent post on marijuana legalization that backs it up with solid facts.
Glad to see that even folks that haven’t tried it are realizing that it isn’t as dangerous to society as we are making it. I wish I could take credit for these arguments, but they really haven’t changed during the past 15 years (outside of the digits attached to the figure we spend every year). With Nationalized health care a reality, and a greater focus on the cost of healthcare, I think every American should take it upon themselves to learn the reality of the uses for medical marijuana. It solves a variety of problems, can be grown both economicly & organically (doesn’t need fertilizer or pesticide), and lacks the dangerous side effects of pharma-alternatives!
See my response to the Keep It Illegal Post. You my friend have validity and credibility. Not because I agree with you. But because of how you laid out your case. Bravo!
Thanks, I did read yours as well, and as you said I don’t agree with it but definitely respect your stance
)
The propaganda on marijuana began LONG before Nixon was pres. If he hadn’t started the war on drugs another president would have. except carter. all the presidents and congresspeople since nixon have kept this war going. which is hypocritical considering how many of them have gotten/do get high.
that’s why it has to rise from the local level on up.
Absolutely, the timing of Marijuana’s persecution with the end of Alcohol prohibition was extremely fishy (saving the jobs of the Prohibiition enforcers). There are strong theories out there that the budding petro-chemical industry may have lobbied the competing product out of a free market. However the USA actually reversed the propaganda machine during the economic stresses of WW2, with the pro-pot farming feature: Hemp for Victory.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-117344919147932597
This video disappeared from Government archives for 40 years until dug up by an activist group in the late 80′s.
Ahhh hypocrisy.
Pay attention to what I’m about to say, because you’re about to hit upside the head with the two by four of real FACTUAL history.
This article has infuriated me. Right off the bat, even though I agree with your central premise, you lost me with your despicable character assasination of President Nixon. Let me just correct a few of your seemingly endless statements that are just plain wrong. First off, this nonsense about ” this racially-charged, paranoia-driven warhawk of a Quaker” bothers me very much. None of it save the Quaker part is in anyway based in reality. He was not paranoid. Its only paranoia when no-one is after you. Nixon, like all politicians, had plenty of enemies. All politicians have to watch their backs, thats the job. And “warhawk”? Really??? The man who got the US out of Vietnam, ended the draft, and opened relations with China while softening those with the USSR is a warhawk??? Bullshit, and I wont even go into this “racially charged” crap or I’m going to give myself a stroke.
And this little commie-sympathizer line thats been going since the Hiss case about Nixon “manipulating people’s negative emotions instead of relying on debate tools such as facts or supporting evidence” just infuriates me. Alger Hiss was a God damned Soviet spy, guilty of treason, and it has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Formerly classified KGB papers dating from the thirties were released to the public a few years ago in Russia, and guess who’s name popped up as one of the most prominent Soviet spies in America? Alger Hiss, with his codename, Leonard. Nixon was right the whole time, and yet the hard-line liberals will never admit it. They still lump him in with the erratic and unstable McCarthy to try to destroy him, just like they did 60 years ago. Helen Gahagan Douglas started it, and all her ilk continue it to this day.
Also, this crap about “somehow managed to find himself leading” the nation. What the hell? Richard Nixon worked his God damn ass off for 20+ years, made countless sacrifices, and put up with vicious, uninformed leftist smearers like yourself so that he could eventually have the chance to lead the nation. And despite how much the hippies hate to be reminded of it, the people of America trusted him. His re-election victory in ’72 was a landslide. Who the hell are you to spit on this great man’s legacy with your little internet article?
And then, for an equally infuriating touch of irony, you go on to talk out of your ass on how much you hate propaganda. Clearly you only hate the propaganda of those whom you disagree with.
You also omit to mention that marijuana has been illegal since 1937, before Richard Nixon’s political career even began. How does that fit in to your world view of Boogeyman Nixon being the reason for your joint being illegal?
The crazy part is that I agree with you on the main issue. Marijuana should be legal, or at least decriminalized. But when you do this kind of thing, ranting about rambling about things you clearly have no understanding of, you infuriate people who are inclined to agree with you and you push away people who actually do know what they’re talking about. And then you sit around and wonder why everyone thinks youre a stupid hippie and no-one takes the NORML view seriously. I guarantee that anyone who knows the basic history of Nixon, the USA and/or marijuana laws will have a hard time taking you seriously.
Now go buy yourself a history book and for God’s sake, shut your mouth until you actually understand what youre talking about.
Lloyd, I am quite flattered my post inspired you so much to respond. I did not cite specific examples depicting how he was paranoid, racist, or a war hawk as I assumed most people would not question this depiction of his personality. Thanks to his committably paranoid habit of secretly, and thus illegally, audio recording all of his meetings and conversations, including those between himself and senior advisors, there really isn’t much room for debate about the fact that he was indeed paranoid, racists, and war hawkish.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/03/richard-nixon-tapes
http://nixontapes.org/
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/01/world/nixon-proposed-using-a-bomb-in-vietnam-war.html
Regarding his career prior to the presidency, I based much of my knowledge of his tactics on the neutrally written book Kennedy & Nixon (http://www.amazon.com/Kennedy-Nixon-Rivalry-Postwar-America/dp/0684832461). Furthermore, a quick google search will confirm that most every Democrat he ran against happened to “have ties to communism”.
International relations: Relations during his presidency improved in China & the USSR, but most history buffs do not give Nixon credit for Henry Kissinger’s work. I didn’t bring up the one part of his legacy worth mentioning, as it was irrelevant to the drug war.
Ending a war and officially losing a war (or are we still calling that a “conflict”?), are hardly the same. Prior to admitting failure he escalated US presence in Vietnam to an unprecedented level, thus drafting more than those before him. Furthermore, the war he did leave us with continues to lose year after year.
This is a racially charged issue as minorities are incarcerated up to 4x the level of whites in some areas. When the brainchild of a racist is carrying out racist justice, chances are there is some institutional racism going on.
Re: Propaganda. I didn’t use any pro-pot propaganda for this post, but if you are referring to the SWAT raid, a leaked (unedited) police camera video can’t qualify as propaganda. The emotion it stirs for the legalization movement are sensationalist in nature, which I openly admit (but don’t shy from using as the event displayed is unedited and real). However I do recognize how Nixonites feel about using things such as leaked recordings of actual events.
Pot wasn’t illegal it was outrageously taxed in 1937 hence the title: Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (helps me remember). I am valid in my claim the Nixon started the war on Marijuana, ignoring the recommendation of the in-depth report that HE commissioned. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm
I am neither a “commie-sympathizer” nor a liberal, but I can assure you I am well versed on the claims I make. Nixon is simply the seed to the monsterous modern issue that is the Drug War. Had his own (well documented) personal characteristics not fit so nicely with my main issues with the war I assure you I would not have featured him.
As you can see I didn’t need to buy a History book, but I certainly left you with some reading! Thanks for the feedback and the contrasting opinion!
Again, you’re dead-wrong on a thousand counts.
Would you call Kennedy and Johnson paranoid? They also had extensive taping systems installed, though none so extensive as Nixon’s, and frankly, I’m a bit surprised that you bring that up first. I expected some bullshit about John Dean’s enemies list or something. How exactly does wanting to record conversations and decision making meetings make one paranoid exactly? I keep a journal, am I paranoid because I want to record things that happen in my life?
Also, that you would dare call President Nixon a racist proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have no clue what you’re talking about. Richard Nixon was a Republican in the mold of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower, meaning in this context; anti-slavery/anti-segregation. This is why I tell you to read up a bit. Richard Nixon is hands-down the greatest desegrator in American history. By the fall of 1970, 2 million black students had been enrolled in integrated school districts. Only 18% of black students still went to all-black schools, down from 70% just two years before when Nixon was inaugurated. This is entirely thanks to Richard M. Nixon and Labor Secretary George Schultz and their intelligent, committed, well-thought out but not well-publicized strategy which achieved their integration goals with a minimum of violence and trouble. But you know what? You’re right, what a horrible bunch of racists those guys were.
You can talk about your theories on institutional racism all you want, but you cannot call Richard Nixon a racist and still be factual. Sorry. You’re wrong.
Insofar as Nixon’s pre-presidential career is concerned, I have this to say. Liberals love to bring up the Douglas-Nixon race for the Senate when trying to tear him down. Very few of them are well-informed enough to know that the first shot in that admittedly nasty campaign was fired by Douglas, and when I say “first shot”, I mean “cannonball volley”. She began her campaign with a speech in which she lumped Nixon in with McCarthy and called them both pipsqueaks in one breath. Look it up. Her attacks throughout were vicious and personal. The lowest Nixon went was to call her “the pink lady”, “pink right down to her underwear” and other similar references to her pretty damn leftist voting and statement records. Was she a Communist? No. Was she a borderline socialist in the middle of the most aggressive part of the Cold War? Yes she definitely was.
Stalin was in power, the USSR was in the business of actively exporting communist revolution, especially to the West, and whether the liberals then and now will admit it or not, there WAS a Communist threat.
As for your terrible analysis of Nixon’s foreign policy, let me say that Nixon and Kissinger achieved much together, and probably neither would have done so well on his own without the other. They had their little quirks, and their little games that they played, but they got the job done, and they got it done as well as they possibly could. Compared to the foreign policies of most previous and subsequent presidents, it stands out clearly as one of the best.
Finally, Nixon never admitted failure in Vietnam, for good reason. It was not a failure until the Democrats cut off the funds that were keeping South Vietname alive. The last American troops left Vietnam in ’73. Saigon fell in ’75. For two years the South Vietnamese fought like hell with American air and naval support because they preferred freedom to communism, and the Democrats, in the midst of their treasonous Watergate frenzy, threw the South Vietnamese under the bus and allowed the Communists to run rampant all over the region, committing massacres left and right. The Vietnam war, (and it was a war) was not lost until the Democrats decided it wasnt worth it anymore, despite Nixon’s best efforts to salvage at least freedom for South Vietnam and American credibility as an ally.
Seriously, read some books. Not just one.
It seems you had no further qualms with aspects related to this post and we have well established that we don’t see eye to eye on the various character flaws and political practices of Richard Nixon. I made no claims about him that weren’t well documented and publicly known, and due to the circular nature of this argument I will simply refer you to the resources provided previously that you clearly skipped.
Its not that we dont see eye to eye. We agree on the main issue. Thats not the point. The point is that you are disgracing the legacy of a great man, and you have nothing to back it up. Where are your counter arguments? Oh right, there are none, because you probably finally did some research and realized you were wrong. Its not a question of how you see things, its a question of what the God damn facts are.
lloyd, i don’t know if you know this but in a leaked tape, Former President Nixon was talking to one of his associates. (Poor Quality tape- it couldn’t determine who) But in this tape he was talking about his views on abortion and frankly i heard the most disturbing thing come out of Nixons mouth. If i could remember the link i would give it to you, but i forgot it. Anyways- Nixon says “I am against abortion is all cases except when the baby is of mixed race…” “Or rape.” the associate said. “Or rape.” Nixon quickly added. I am not trying to start a fight, I am simply saying that that is racist to a certain degree. it was not leaked till-if my memory holds true- 2006? or early 2000s. When i say racist to a certain degree, i mean it may have been “acceptable” to people back then, but it shows signs of his hippocracy. He was a man who worked hard to end segregation, but this is a sign that desegregation may have been a point of emphasis during that year and was a so-called “hot topic.” And obviously he would not openly be against desegregation, who would? Do you think that any candidate would admit this? It would’ve been political suicide. Once again- not trying to start a fight, only stating a fact. (personally i think Nixon did good things throughout his presidency, but his “sneakiness” was what made people suspicious. also- obviously- the Watergate scandal also tainted people’s view of him.)