American Exceptionalism: Cannabis, Art and Housing

In 2013 I ran for a local political position with the campaign promise to serve my community by focusing my energies on art, academics and family engagement in our public schools. I lost. But after this year’s tumultuous and historic American election season I began thinking what my political priorities would be today.

Cannabis, of course, because as a freedom loving American I don’t believe the government has (or had) the right to criminalize a plant. That alone would make my candidacy unique. I would focus on decriminalization and crushing the stigma and fear that was used to control us for so long. It’s clear that most measures to control others fail because persecution may seem like having control over others, but true control only comes from within. And it’s imperative that our country reckon with the pain it caused and the communities it damaged unnecessarily because  of cannabis prohibition. The men who decided cannabis needed to be controlled  and criminalized no longer represent the only political opinion with a voice in law making in 2020, and we all have our role to play to reverse the destructive war on drugs so that our citizens can heal. 

And art would stay because we know the power of the creative spirit to heal, and we must preserve our ability to support artists and encourage our own creativity. I say this because I’ve found it to be so true in my own life. On Election Day my nerves were too frayed to work, so I filled the many hours of that long, gray day making masks with techno-colored RBG fabric. I am blessed to live this life with so many exceptional women who also revere RBG, and on Election Day my energies were focused on cutting, ironing and sewing while listening with bated breath to the narrative of what our country would decide. On Election Day friends I hadn’t seen in years stopped by my front-porch so I could give them something I’d created that would bring a spark of joy to their day and gave me hope.

The trifecta of my priorities would include housing because it’s an old passion of mine and was the reason I chose to attend law school. It is something that everyone needs and we know that without a safe place that belongs to just us, nothing else matters. We all need a home. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about American exceptionalism and wondering if it’s even a real thing. But it feels like it’s true because I know my story is not the only one that was possible because I am part of an  exceptional generation of women born into a modern mid-century America that was opening opportunities that hadn’t existed before. Our story was only possible because RBG - a prophet who could see a world that others did not – created a space for us. The changes she pushed in American laws came slowly, but are seeping into our American culture. But I know, as a lawyer, that laws only work if we - those subjected to those laws - believe in them. Kind of like Tinkerbell. And that culture is even harder to modify.

The opportunities I’ve been granted because I am a women born into modern mid-century America have allowed me see the world in a unique way. And despite the rising tide of authoritarianism and hatred in my country emboldened by leaders in the Republican party rejecting democracy, I have the found the courage to be happy mostly because of cannabis, but also because of all the women I’m meeting with the same vision as me.

There’s an aspirational place in our future where cannabis is legal and affordable, art is enriching everyone, and we all have a home. But to get there we must have a thriving democracy that gives each exceptional American the freedom to be. We all must continue to challenge the distortions that have abounded and left us in the darkness. 

So I thank RBG for helping women to remove some of the laws that felt like a foot on our necks for so long,  And it’s not that the fight is over, but I know now that there is an army of women just like me willing to invest their exceptional selves in the fight for things that care for humans like cannabis, art and housing . For American exceptionalism to be a real thing we all must understand that we won’t always win every fight and that our exceptionalism lies in the opportunity to fight for our beliefs because when we lose, in America, our political adversary should help us back up so we can fight another day. We are not enemies, we are all Americans.

So I am hopeful we will join together and create a better future where cannabis is legal and affordable, art is enriching everyone, and we all have a home.