Living in Satan’s Belt

Strange title, right? Maybe. Settling back into Texas after some years abroad has taught me a few things. One of which, is that our religious culture is among the most difficult I have encountered. For instance, in California, many people were not prohibitionists. They existed, but they were the minority, not the majority. People were alot more accepting, in general of other people’s quirks and behavioral nuances. Honestly. Feel free to disagree with me, but that was my perception.

Once arriving back in Texas, I quickly had culture shock. The life I enjoyed back in California was not happening here. Once transplanted, I went from a law abiding citizen, to an individual conspiring to commit multiple felonies a day. Now, I am not crazy…mostly…so I decided NOT to commit multiple felonies a day. Honestly, this only lasted for about 2 months. The depression, pain, nausea, and vomiting became too much.

After coming back and becoming engaged in activism, I find that I am not alone in this realization. Many ethical, Christian people are fighting to repeal cannabis prohibition. It’s fun to meet a fellow Christian. It’s also fun to meet a fellow activist. It’s REALLY fun to meet a fellow activist who is also a Christian. We have some excellent conversations! My friend, Arthur, was the one who inspired this article. I stole the title from him.

Texas is ripe with religious tyranny. This place was build on oil, which means it was built on blood, yet there is a church building on nearly every corner. People seem more concerned with the actual words you use, the clothing you wear, translation of Bible you do/don’t use, denomination of church service you do/don’t attend, than they do people.

Even after watching videos of young children who have died because they do not have safe access to cannabis, after becoming aware of veterans having an unusually high rate of suicide due to PTSD and other service-connected problems; there are still people that believe they have the moral imperative to continue supporting the drug war. Further, they believe cannabis repeal would lead us one step closer to Sodom and Gomorrah status. This is why the South has strong opposition on this topic. It’s difficult to watch all the non-Bible belt states wake up while fellow Southerns are mostly asleep.

If there is one thing I have noticed about most right-leaning Texans — they love their war, because they love their oil. This isn’t just about the endless wars in the Middle East, but about the wars being fought at home — the War on Drugs and the War on Terror. I have been actively trained to look for terrorist threats at home. Well, I am finding these threats, and they are not whom I suspected. This is why I will not be silent. I will not give up. I believe in liberty, and I believe in Texas. I hope and pray that more people open their eyes to the tyranny that exists today. We have the very government our founding fathers warned us about. This is not a drill.