A Letter I'd Like To See (But Won't) (thanks to Bob Chambers for this one)
Am I the only one who finds it petty and pathetic that so many have fallen into fits of righteous outrage because Michael Phelps smoked a (&^%$#@ bong?? Somehow, I doubt it. No, I'm not about to advocate breaking the law. What Phelps did was illegal. Then again (to quote the late Hunter S. Thompson), I've never been one to advocate drugs, alcohol, or violence...but they've always worked for me.
Yes, possession of marijuana is illegal...but how often is that sort of thing even punished anymore? Let's face it; you really have to be pretty stupid to get busted for marijuana possession anymore. The question of whether what Phelps did rises to that level is something I'll leave to minds that actually care about that sort of thing. What concerns me is the apparent willingness to hold celebrities and public figures to standards we would never dream of holding ourselves...and in so doing ignoring truly egregious crimes
Can we all just get over ourselves here? Michael Phelps is as much a role model as George W. Bush (and we all know how THAT worked out, eh?). For eight years, we watched a President send our sons and daughters off to an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. Many of them came home in boxes; many more minus limbs or parts of their psyche. So where was the outrage and the demands for accountability? A 23-year-old Olympic swimmer makes love to a bong and...OH THE HUMANITY!! OH THE HORROR!! HOW WILL WE EVER PROTECT OUR PRECIOUS, IMPRESSIONABLE CHILDREN!!
How about we make a deal here? When y'all start clamoring for the prosecution of those who authorized torture and spent eight years making a mockery of the rule of law, THEN we can talk about prosecuting Michael Phelps. Until then, how about y'all just get a grip....
