The Fruits of Activism

There are many days when I am pounding away at my blog, organizing a fundraising event, knee-deep in bookkeeping or manufacturing a protest sign, that I wonder why I bother. Does anything that I do or say really make an impact on this world? Is anybody going to change their mind about the war on drugs based on anything that I say or do? Maybe I should just get a new hobby.

The recent events in Wawota have given me hope that we can make a difference and reach more people. A carful of activists brandishing signs and video cameras can make a difference. All it cost was a few sheets of bristol board and a tank full of gas.

The media attention to this story has all been overwhelmingly positive. Take this editorial written by Colby Cosh.

What fascinates me about the case of Kieran King, the Saskatchewan high school student who was threatened, punished and slandered by various officials over the past three weeks for talking with some pals about the health effects of marijuana, is that it explodes almost every single utopian cliche about public schools that has been ever propounded by their employees and admirers. It's almost glorious, in a way. Ever heard an educator say "We're not here to teach students what to think -- we're here to teach them how to think"? BLAMMO! "We encourage children to make learning a lifelong process." KAPOW! Poor Kieran didn't even make it to age 16 before someone called the cops.

"Diversity is one of our most cherished values." But express a factually true opinion that diverges from what you've been taught and -- WHOOMP! "Public schools aren't crude instruments of social control, they're places where we lay the foundation for an informed citizenry." BOOM!

I could go on, but I'm running out of sound effects and I really don't have time to fire up an old Batman episode on You-Tube to gather more.

Go ahead and read the whole thing. Cosh articulates what I have been thinking all week and explains why I have been so disgruntled by the state of public education. I am one of the indoctrinators and I know that reefer madness runs rampant through the school system. I want to fight it and challenge it but I am not sure how to do that. Supporting Kieran King was a great thing to do and it surely will be a tiny babystep forward to the cause of ending reefer madness and instituting a sensible drug policy.

The school system needs to be shaken up further but I am not sure how to do that. If we can not prevent our childrens' minds from being warped by reefer madness, what hope do we have of ending it? I was wondering if focussing our activism on the school system (and annoying all my co-workers) is not the best use of our limited time and resources.

For example, maybe I should try to raise some money in order to donate pro-cannabis literature to the Saskatoon Public School Division. Why not give the local high schools a few copies of BUD INC or The Emperor Wears no Clothes? If the school board bans it, we can picket the school board office downtown and get all kinds of publicity out of it. If the schools allow the literature in the schools, then high school students will be exposed to pro-drug reform books. Either scenario is very win-win. Maybe we should find a way to start a Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter.