Our Family Vacation: Hemp, Hippies, and Freedom of Speech

[catholic-mom]

So, we've been planning to take a historical vacation for several years.  The Stimulus Check enabled us to do so this year.   Our plans had always been to hit Philly, DC, and Gettysburg; we finally took this much needed vacation from June 30th to July 6th.  Our daughter Lillian, 7th grade, had just finished her 6th grade school year learning about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  As a mom who previous homeschooled her girls for 10 years, this vacation would be a fabulous way for Lily to soak in living history!

What we had not planned upon was an 'in your face' lesson on the 1st Amendment, drugs, immodesty, and homosexuality.  I guess the fact that America, and more specifically, our nation’s capitol, is a 'melting pot' meant a 'melting pot' of all life-styles, not just ethnic groups. 

Let’s start with a travel tip for DC:

If you don't think your child is ready for an 'in your face' lesson on drugs, and if you want to protect your child's innocent and sensitive ears from vulgar words, mostly the "F-bomb", and horrible and hateful words against those men and women in law enforcement - don't, I repeat, DON'T spend the 4th of July in Washington, DC next to the Lincoln Memorial!

The city of Washington, DC offers a wonderful community celebration for the 4th of July.  There are free concerts all over the Mall, parades, food and drink, and of course several parks and the monuments.  We thought that spending the 4th of July in DC was an excellent way to celebrate our Nation’s freedoms and would be the highpoint of our vacation learning experience. 

We packed ourselves for the Metro with a small cooler and 2 blankets and began our trek from L'Enfant Plaza to the Lincoln Memorial (for those not familiar with DC, L'Enfant Plaza is a subway hub just a few blocks from the Capitol building which is 2.2 miles at one end of the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial at the other end).  We took our time, taking in all the sites, sounds, and smells.  The Smithsonian Institute was holding their annual Folklife Festival on the Mall this same week.  We watched dancers and heard musicians.  It was wonderful!

Now, as we had made our way past the Washington Memorial, we saw a huge stage set up with a sign letting everyone know that the Air Force Band, Larry Gatlin, and the Gatlin Brothers would be playing.  We also knew that National Symphony Orchestra, Taylor Hicks, Huey Lewis, and other artists would be playing on the West Lawn in front of the Capitol.  And all of these concerts were free and open to the public!

We took our time at the WWII and Korean Memorials - awesome!   Prayers went out to those who lost loved ones.   We were truly humbled by the memorials - words cannot describe.  Those sacrifices have enabled us to have lives rich in freedoms that we take so much for granted.

We then made our way to the Lincoln Memorial which was packed!  It was the first time any of us were ever in DC in the summer (I'm in DC every January for the March For Life); we've only seen pictures of the Memorial - bare steps leading to the President.  But this real life view was very different - stairs filled with people whom we later found out had been camping out since the early hours of the morning.  They wanted a pristine view of the fireworks show that would close the Independence Day festivities which were to be set off at the other end of the Reflecting Pool lying between the Lincoln Memorial and the WWII Memorial.  The view would be spectacular with a mirror image of the beautiful fireworks reflected in the water.

We made our way through the maze of people up the stairs to the massive marble Lincoln.  We took photos, read Lincoln's words memorialized in the far wall, and took in the wonderful views of DC from our vantage point.  Upon walking down the stairs, the heat was getting to be too much so we decided to seek refuge under a large hemlock on the corner of the memorial.  It was the perfect place to lay our blankets.  We arranged our makeshift afternoon 'home', and laid back to take it all in.  The ice-cream truck and souvenir shops were easily within walking distance, as were the more important porta-potties.

Music was clearly playing to our left!  We were so excited to know that we were really close to yet another live band!  Indeed this was an awesome afternoon!!!!

Then the music went 'live'.

Profanities.  Vulgarities.  Obscenities.

Every other word was F-this, and F-that.  They didn't sing, they screamed, and they ranted, and they raved, and they profaned, and they offended.

"Let's celebrate the 39th annual 4^th of July Hemp Coalition's Smoke-In!” was their call.

Yes, the hippies were out in force, pushing their agenda to legalize marijuana, all the while demoralizing and offending everyone within listing range who was not high. This included almost 100% off the crowd, since the city of DC was hosting a family style 4^th of July Celebration.  I would imagine that most of the parents in the crowd would have no problem teaching their children about drugs and alcohol – when they feel their own children are ready.  But to have this issue, along with horribly and language, forced upon sensitive and innocent ears, is not only offensive but takes away our God-given right to educate our children as parents see fit.

I’m sad too for how the band, and those supporting their cause, treated the police in the area.  The band felt the need to spew hatred toward the officers.  We’re so sorry you were treated disrespectfully while trying to hold up the law for all of us.  You’re presence was most appreciated! 

For some reason, the powers-that-be did not pull the plug on the ‘singer’ (and I use that term very loosely) until 4 or 5 f-word-filled songs passed through the airwaves.  But after the bang lost their voice, they quickly wrapped up their gig in time for the MC to preach the wonderful qualities of hemp and how smoking marijuana should be legalized.  The MC proudly proclaimed that he was quite high and that many others had smoked grass prior to the rally.  They were not only proud of their illegal accomplishments but encouraged others to do the same and to challenge authorities, pushing the envelope to further their agenda.

When his trash talk driveled on too long hold the attention of the hippies, they moved into the crowd among the families.   One such high couple decided to lay their hemp blanket three feet from ours under the hemlock tree (did they think it could be smoked??).

When I glanced their way I got an eyeful of a greasy-haired, deodorant deprived, very portly woman, wearing only a bandeaux top.  Obviously, no one ever told her that it’s a little immodest to wear even when you’re 10 and weight less than 100lbs.  As she and her male friend settled in for the afternoon, she unpacked her paraphernalia and proceeded to roll some joints.  At this point the crowd had gotten very large, dense, and there was no place to move; it was about 8pm and the fireworks were scheduled for 9.  Our little family was not the only ones to notice the 40 year old bums and their pot.  Other families were trying to ignore them; and thankfully, this drug-induced duo was not loud or obnoxious like most of their constituents.

As our daughter checked out the crowd, she noticed the ‘lady’ (term used very loosely) hippy and her male friend behind us under the hemlock tree and said to me, “Gee, Mom, that should be illegal!” 

I replied with, “It is.” 

And she commented back, “I didn’t know it was illegal to be fat and wear only a bra in public.” 

I chuckled and said, “No dear, it’s illegal to do drugs.”  Then I explained briefly that the ‘lady’ was doing marijuana.

Now, our daughter is very astute.  She knew that the woman was not only immodest to the point of being illegal (Go Lily!) she also wanted to yell out, “You Suck!” to the band.   Not a good idea, I explained, as we passed the band coming back from a much needed trip to the porta-potty.  It wouldn’t be fair to Daddy if we dissed the band and got him beat up in the meantime.

And, while we hated the idea that this band could spew obscenities and talk trash, it was an in-your-face example of freedom of speech.  Although Lily didn’t like how they had the freedom to talk and act like they did, she did appreciate the fact that this same freedom enabled us to visit Washington, DC each year and march in the streets for the unborn, praying the rosary and singing praises to our God at the top our lungs. 

This is America!  And truly, this Independence Day proved the USA is a melting pot (pun not intended).  Our prayer is for this wonderful country and for our founding fathers who fought so hard for this wonderful independence that we take for granted.

 

[catholicmamamia]

Jul. 10, 2008 at 1:13 AM Wow..what an adventure. I think you handled things well, not too sure I would have been so level-headed if exposed to all that madness!