Guest Post by E. Sizemore. Documentary filmmaker Michael Dean and self-described “libertarian hip-hop artist” Neema Vedadi have released a film called Guns and Weed: The Road to Freedom, in which they attempt to reach young liberals on Second Amendment rights and libertarian politics by connecting these topics to the struggle for marijuana legalization.
In an interview with Claire Wolfe in the April, 2001 edition of Backwoods Home Magazine, Mrs. Wolfe asks Michael Dean “What techniques are you using to reach this [young, liberal] audience” to which he replies:
“I think the weed part will make college liberal folks watch it and maybe help them realize why supporting ‘progressive’ ideals that involve theft or aggression just might not be a good thing.” By “theft”, he means taxation, and by “aggression” he is referring to force used by the government.
Aside from being way too long and repetitive (they really need to cut this thing!), the film is mildly entertaining. And, while the connection to government overreach in both areas has some merit, the one glaring difference is that marijuana doesn’t kill people. You can’t shoot someone with a joint. Bongs don’t accidentally misfire, and if a child finds your pot pipe he might lose a few brain cells, but not his entire brain.
I strongly support Second Amendment rights, and I own several guns. So if someone like me sees this documentary for what it is – a reaching, poorly-done piece of libertarian propaganda – how do you think a pro-gun-control Liberal is going to react? Just who are they trying to reach?
It is easy to be critical of this film, especially for those of us who have never attempted to make a documentary of our own. Likewise, however, it is easy to applaud Michael Dean and Neema Vedadi for bringing up a subject that has long been pushed under the rug by conservatives: How can you support laws against “freedom of choice” regarding social issues like gay marriage and marijuana (which do no harm), and in the same breath call for smaller government and “freedom” to carry weapons (which can – and do – harm)? Why is it that most Libertarians seem to identify more with Republicans than with Democrats? Is their desire for fewer taxes and less government control of business greater than their desire for personal freedom and civil liberties? Isn’t your freedom to choose what to do with your own body and in your own bedroom more important than what tax bracket your small business falls into?
By focusing on an issue which many Libertarians and Democrats can agree on (legalization of marijuana), the filmmakers hoped to open up a dialog about another issue (gun control V.S. Second Amendment rights). The documentary itself wasn’t all that great, but the intent was a good start. Now if only we could drop the second part and just focus on the issues that we CAN agree on, maybe we’d actually get some things done in this country. Perhaps Mr. Dean’s next film will not attempt the good ol’ bait-and-switch, but will explain Libertarian ideals to people who support them, but don’t know it yet – like Democrats and Independent voters who would like to remove the government from their living rooms and bedrooms.
Guns and Weed: The Road to Freedom is available for free download on BitTorrent (with permission granted by the filmmakers for non-commercial viewing), and you can learn more by visiting www.gunsandweed.com.
See more from E. Sizemore on Huffington Post and Living A Simple Life, where he discusses his family’s misadventures in starting a small homestead.
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