2008 Woodie Awards
Does Barry Cooper cross any ethical lines?
Patrick Senn
Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/24/08 Section: Opinion
A former narcotics officer, Barry Cooper, has started producing documentaries showing people how to hide marijuana. He is actually from a red state like ours, the same state that our beloved George W. is from -- the biggest socially conservative president in a very long time.
Now some would make the argument over these videos about marijuana legalization or decriminalization and that is a debate that has raged in this nation for a long time now with more conservative states adopting stronger laws about it and liberal states being more lenient. As with most attempts to legislate morality, the law is broken by large numbers of people that are willing to carry their convictions that whatever activity is in fact moral to its logical conclusion and engage in it regardless.
One of his statistics that is worth mentioning is that 40 percent of Americans have smoked pot. If that were true and all of them were put in jail, America's economy would collapse even faster than it already is. But ultimately, this is not the argument that should be taking place. The argument here is about freedom of speech.
Agree with what the documentaries are about or not, he has the right to say what he wishes to say, and if people are willing to pay him to say it, then that's called a consultant, and more power to the guy for making a buck in an economy that's about to go down the toilet at any second. He isn't associated with any form of law enforcement agency anymore, and I may be able to understand an attempt to censure him if he were actively involved in police work.
The fact of the matter, however, is that Barry Cooper is acting as a private citizen in these videos and not as a police officer, and,therefore, has the right to say whatever he pleases and should not be worried about any form of reprisal from the government or from anyone else for what he is doing.
The First Amendment, enshrined as one of the most important pieces of our Constitution, states that every American has freedom of speech.
This right has been protected throughout the centuries for various acts of censure or restriction and shall continue to do so with or without Barry Cooper's name attached to it.
To persecute this man in anyway for what he says is fascistic and against the core beliefs that American democracy was built upon.
If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we disagree, we really do not believe in it at all.
And in the choice between living in a United States that embraces its core values and unalienable rights, and one that embraces abolishing people who want to speak their minds, I wholeheartedly support the former.
Now some would make the argument over these videos about marijuana legalization or decriminalization and that is a debate that has raged in this nation for a long time now with more conservative states adopting stronger laws about it and liberal states being more lenient. As with most attempts to legislate morality, the law is broken by large numbers of people that are willing to carry their convictions that whatever activity is in fact moral to its logical conclusion and engage in it regardless.
One of his statistics that is worth mentioning is that 40 percent of Americans have smoked pot. If that were true and all of them were put in jail, America's economy would collapse even faster than it already is. But ultimately, this is not the argument that should be taking place. The argument here is about freedom of speech.
Agree with what the documentaries are about or not, he has the right to say what he wishes to say, and if people are willing to pay him to say it, then that's called a consultant, and more power to the guy for making a buck in an economy that's about to go down the toilet at any second. He isn't associated with any form of law enforcement agency anymore, and I may be able to understand an attempt to censure him if he were actively involved in police work.
The fact of the matter, however, is that Barry Cooper is acting as a private citizen in these videos and not as a police officer, and,therefore, has the right to say whatever he pleases and should not be worried about any form of reprisal from the government or from anyone else for what he is doing.
The First Amendment, enshrined as one of the most important pieces of our Constitution, states that every American has freedom of speech.
This right has been protected throughout the centuries for various acts of censure or restriction and shall continue to do so with or without Barry Cooper's name attached to it.
To persecute this man in anyway for what he says is fascistic and against the core beliefs that American democracy was built upon.
If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we disagree, we really do not believe in it at all.
And in the choice between living in a United States that embraces its core values and unalienable rights, and one that embraces abolishing people who want to speak their minds, I wholeheartedly support the former.
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