The thought of unjustly demeaning an American hero disgusts me.
Dare I say that Tuesday's editorial "Bongwater" attempted to do just that to 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.
Luckily, it will take a lot more than puffing the magic dragon to take down this legend who won a historic eight gold medals in last year's Beijing Olympics. As far as I'm concerned, this makes Phelps even more of a badass.
As a symbol of our generation, Phelps has, consciously or not, taken a stand against the antiquated laws of America's past. But marijuana's absurd illegality is not the issue here. What is at stake is the reputation of an American hero. To say that Phelps' image "will be forever marred" is a quantum leap to say the least. Fortunately, the American public is smart enough to know that hitting on some grass won't cook your ass.
Marijuana is not dangerous and has never killed anyone, unlike so many legal drugs out there like prescriptions, tobacco or alcohol. Just because something is illegal does not mean it is wrong.
Given his swimming record, I think Phelps is more than strong enough to recover from this debacle concocted by the media.
