I anxiously entered my house lounge in anticipation of a gathering, I supposed, was meant to celebrate perhaps one of the most important artists in recent history. I soon noticed by the literature on the table that this was a drug and alcohol abuse presentation, and that this was hardly the event I had been looking forward to.

Precocity had it that I’d assume a poster reading, “Bob Marley, The Man, The Music, The Marijuana,” and boasting “Free Food” would be in advertisement of an event resembling a presentation of one the more polarizing 20th century musical phenomena; possibly in allusion to a documentary narrative of some sort? Perhaps personal naiveté and musical taste influenced this assumption, but I am saddened to say that reggae music was dealt such a disrespectful hand by this program.

Formatted in a terribly dogmatic fashion, the presenters proceeded to alliterate the potential health hazards of alcohol and marijuana. During the breaks in random scare stats, the presenters sampled a few selections of Marley’s music. Thereafter, the presenters attempted to reflect on the context and meaning of each selection, but the dialogue was limited to a few vague, sometimes patronizing phrases uttered with an uninterested, defeatist inflection. This quasi -interdisciplinary lesson was shallow in both of its bizarrely juxtaposed topics. It seems as though someone said, “In order to advertise our drug and alcohol services, we will intersperse our information with a cherry picked biography of an otherwise respectable cultural figure.”

It seems to me that this dichotomy of ideas was meant to subtly libel and discount Robert Nesta Marley’s cultural and historical significance, paying all too much attention to his (spiritually motivated) use of ganja. What other purpose does the concoction of such a program serve but to paste a socially recognized taboo of western biomedicine onto a cultural figure in an unfriendly manner? Sure, it is possible to trace the peripherally maintained relationship between Rastafarianism, reggae music, and marijuana use. However, this correlation is undeserving of cultural degradation by some more bold salespersons of biomedicine. Be not too quick in the dismissing this as “some liberal with an overactive political correctness meter.” Rather, perceive the cultural insensitivity in branding a face, a voice, with the likeness of undesirable consequence. To reduce the iconography of Mr. Marley to one small facet of his identity is to reduce our collective symbolic capability. Freedom, if I may surmise, is the hallmark of Marley’s life and music, no matter what he smoked.

Coincidentally, Bob Marley was known to have been outspoken of political semantics like this one. He broadly shunned politics and embraced spirituality as a means of transcendence from earthly frills. For a fan of his music, Marley represents an utterly intense, indeed moving artistic practice of spiritual motivation, his passion for his music shouted vibrancy for life and appreciation of things beyond human conflict. Simple resolve and togetherness was the wisely prophetic message of Marley. Philosophical mystic, soulful musician, advocate for social justice—Marley’s uncontested significance lives despite futile tries at tainting this indelible symbol of freedom.