A clarion call for social change

One of the motivating reasons for creating this unofficial publication was to provide an alternative viewpoint on political, social and cultural issues from a locality that is lodged in a perpetual state of conservative traditionalism rooted in evangelical Christian patriarchy.  I’ve heard more than a few visitors from other places in the USA and overseas comment on the number of churches they’ve seen in the City of Tulsa.  To outsiders there seems to be one on nearly every corner of not only this town but most other communities throughout our fair state.  Indeed, as recently as three years ago Oklahoma ranked in the Top 10 in church attendance nationally.  While all or most of that may still be true, what occurred this week along this the Mother Road’s most conservative stretch may be very telling as to the pitfalls and shortcomings of ecclesiastically-based public policies that directly effect the people living here.  In the face of adversity on multiple fronts from a well-funded and widely broadcasted disinformation campaign to stopping free speech in a public forum to scattered reports on Election Day that some voting locations were intentionally not distributing State Question ballots to the voters along with the Primary Election ballots, Oklahoma State Question 788 passed resoundingly by a vote of the people!  The numbers tell the story better than any amateur blogger or professional journalist possibly ever can.

Oklahoma State Question 788: Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative
Result Votes Percentage
Yes
506,782
56.84%

No
384,872
43.16%

While the jury is still out on the overall analysis of why so many Oklahomans voted for access to Medical Marijuana, the factions who opposed it are marshalling their resources to contain the damage.  I look for the lame-duck governor to call a special session of the state legislature to work out the details of implementation of the new law.  I am acutely aware that several in the legislature were not in favor of the original petition and subsequent plebiscite, including some stalwart members of the Democratic Caucus.  Reasons for their negative stance almost all revolve around the fact that in its current form, it is a poorly written statute.  I will vouch for the validity of their dissent.  Granted, it may not be the best written law anyone has ever scene but it at very least provides a starting point.

Text of Oklahoma State Question 788

There is still much debate over what level of health care provider may prescribe for what medical conditions and in what quantity, therefore this issue is not completely resolved.  It is, however, something that forces the attention of the legislature.  With so many other states passing medical and recreational MJ laws, it was only a matter of time before it arrived in Oklahoma.  I however had no idea it would present itself so quickly.  Yours Truly spoke with some activists at the SQ 788 watch party at Tulsa’s Circle Cinema on Election Night.  It remains to be seen how well received recreational marijuana will be but I was assured that legislation and/or ballot initiatives regarding it will soon be forthcoming.

In the larger scheme of things, the result of the vote on SQ 788 is a validation that there is in fact a rising tide of social change that is washing over traditional conservative values in numbers that are too great to ignore.  To the opponents of change, particularly of this type, no misleading half-truth or falsehood is off limits in their quest to stop it as was seen in their campaign ads.  Let it never be said we do not live in an interesting albeit turbulent age.  At a time when Liberal and Progressive America controls nothing, not the White House, not the Congress, not the Oklahoma Governorship nor the Oklahoma Legislature nor any Oklahoma state office, the one thing it does control is pop culture.  A casual stroll through any of the local rock, folk or jazz music festivals or concerts reveals the true colors of the mainstream of the community.  Enough voters to matter are tired of having to risk arrest and criminal charges to partake of medication that works for them just like enough people to matter got tired of having to hide from public view who they choose to love.  Pushback notwithstanding, Liberal and Progressive America is on the right side of history and Tuesday’s vote is just the latest mile marker we passed on our way to creating a better Oklahoma.

As was alluded to above, those opposed to this sort of progress are scrambling to contain the damage.  Admittedly, not all their ideas are unreasonable.  As with so many other things in this glorious existence known as life, this bit of progress comes with certain tradeoffs.  Immediately when the law goes into effect, any person who obtains a medical marijuana license must surrender their firearms.  It remains to be seen how many other restrictions will be delineated and how many will be deliberately punitive.  Regardless, this is but the beginning of a new era of enlightenment along this corridor of Old Route 66 and as evidenced by numbers for and against, it is embraced by more than rejected it.