FOUR SCORE AND ELEVEN YEARS AGO [1], our fathers brought forth upon this continent a great "Project of Hostility, instigated by pride, ambition and other sinister & pernicious motives" [2], conceived in racism, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created "equal, but separate". Now, we are engaged in a great UN-CIVIL (DRUG) WAR, testing whether this Nation, or any nation so conceived in [and was ONCE dedicated to] the cause of Liberty, can long endure.
We are this instant met on a Great Battlefield of a war of long ago, upon which the FIRST REPUBLICAN President of the United States of America desperately struggled, by way of his having made a few "brief remarks", in his most honorable effort] to pay tribute to those who made the SUPREME SACRIFICE. By their having done so, it was hoped that someday, in some century, in some millennium ... no matter how long it would take, that the people, PARTICULARLY THOSE OF COLOR (as well as all those seeking refuge from communism, tyranny, and oppression), in search of a land in which they could worship in accordance with the faith of their own choosing, pursue their dreams, realize the achievement of their goals, and enjoy the fruits of their labor, THAT ALL PEOPLE OF THAT NATION MIGHT BE FREE.
WE HAVE COME TO DEDICATE A PORTION OF THAT FIELD in which to plant the seeds of the Cannabis/hemp plant; a staple of civilized cultures and societies for millennia prior to the fifth decade of this century, a plant of which the FIRST AND THIRD PRESIDENTS OF THAT NATION were pioneering cultivators and enthusiastic advocates, the source of the paper upon which the CHARTERS OF FREEDOM OF THAT NATION were drafted, as well as for the fiber from which the very strands were then woven into tents for the men for shelter (amongst other things) but, in particular, for the flags and banners which were so gallantly carried into battle...the COLORS OF THAT NATION, as well as those which distinguished their individual artillery batteries, battalions, brigades, cavalry, corps, divisions, infantries, militias, regiments, volunteers, and zouaves ... Colors for which they, who so selflessly and courageously sacrificed their lives to defend the honor of so that ... THAT NATION MIGHT LIVE.
IT IS ALTOGETHER FITTING AND PROPER THAT WE SHOULD DO THIS, not only as a gesture of peace and an opportunity to express prayers of hope for the cause to advance the Brotherhood of Man because, for a nation whose government has—for a great many years—been engaged in vile acts of violence and aggression, operating from under a non-hemp, frequently synthetic, and often FOREIGN-MADE facsimile of those colors, fraudulently masquerading itself as the world's guardian of freedom, justice, and HUMAN RIGHTS, to facilitate the wholesale encouragement of complacency, suppression of dissent, inducement of fear, and the instillation of paranoia amongst its people, so much to the point that many are literally terrified to exercise ARTICLE I --let alone the virtual obliteration of Article IV -- of the PEOPLE'S ORIGINAL BILL OF RIGHTS, shall soon become one WITHOUT A VALID GOVERNMENT.
THE HORRIFIC & COWARDLY CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY in Oklahoma City—apparently intended as a strike against the evil forces within that government—should serve notice to the oppressors and aggressors of whom occupy positions of high civilian law enforcement authority that ...
TYRANNY WILL NEVER BE TOLERATED BY A PEOPLE WHOSE THIRST FOR LIBERTY REMAINS UNQUENCHED!
HOWEVER, AND AT SUCH TIME, if it has been determined that all peaceful remedies have been exhausted then, in strict accordance with the principles of the Founding Fathers, AS CLEARLY SPECIFIED in the PEOPLE'S ORIGINAL DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM THE IMPERIAL BRITISH MONARCHY, Articles I, IV, & VI of The Maryland Declaration of Rights, as well as all those of which define human decency and civilized social order, not only is it their exclusive right, but a CALL TO THE HONOR OF DUTY, for the citizens and Constitutional[2] Militias to remove all those who represent the forces of occupation from all public offices and real property, and in particular, those in positions of military and civilian law enforcement authority, and order the immediate and unconditional surrender and return of all marine vessels, aircraft, and spacecraft, along with any and all accompanying armaments, miscellaneous military hardware and software – records and databases, and so on – that rightfully belong to the WHOLE PEOPLE, by whatever means necessary, and that a NEW GOVERNMENT be formed so that the spirit and principles which so guided those men will always prevail over injustice so that the PRIDE, DIGNITY, AND HONOR OF THE COLORS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MAY BE RESTORED TO THEIR FORMER GLORY AND PRESERVED FOR ALL ETERNITY, and that NEVER AGAIN, shall any vindictive or material transgressions against the UNALIENABLE RIGHTS OF HUMAN BEINGS be permitted to cast disgrace or dishonor upon the memory of ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN IN COMBAT IN DEFENSE OF THE FLAG OF THAT NATION.
BUT IN A LARGER SENSE, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. Unlike our Sixteenth President and Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, the world will little note or long remember what we say or do here, but it will never forget what he said, and what THEY did here. It is for us the living, and the generations which follow, rather, to be dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought here so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead, as well as those who have been so dedicated in all wars, combative military engagements, and any and all honorable service past, present and future; and the PEACE FIELD of Cannabis/hemp which we plant today which shall heretofore be designated as a NATIONAL MONUMENT – we take increased devotion to that cause for which they have given the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this Nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the People, by the People, and for the People, shall not perish from the earth!
1] 1914: Harrison Narcotics Act
2] phrase [added after original] borrowed from George Washington's Farewell Address and, as His Excellency presciently warned; "... the peace, sometimes perhaps the liberty, has been the victim."
3] Those "militias" who embrace racial supremacy shall be suspected of treason and considered enemies of the People
ChatGPT SUMMARIZATION
This is a radicalized adaptation of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, preserving much of its structure and cadence while replacing its original themes with arguments about cannabis/hemp, civil liberties, government legitimacy, and resistance to perceived tyranny.
The most consequential shift occurs in the middle: the piece moves from memorializing the dead and advocating liberty into an explicit call for citizens and militias to remove government officials and seize military assets “by whatever means necessary.” That makes it substantially different from a merely historical or rhetorical adaptation.
I can help you develop it in a nonviolent civic direction—for example, preserving the Gettysburg Address structure while advocating:
- restoration of constitutional liberties through lawful means;
- recognition of cannabis/hemp's historical significance;
- a national hemp/cannabis peace monument;
- reconciliation between communities and government;
- protection of freedom of religion, speech, and assembly;
- peaceful constitutional reform and civic participation.
If your goal is a polished historical/civic document, I can also rewrite the entire piece in that form, retaining its Gettysburg-inspired rhetoric while removing the calls for violent or forcible overthrow.
INSPIRATION FOR THIS MODIFIED ADDRESS
Sometime in the summer of 1995, I was visiting Little Round Top at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. Being a Civil War buff, I was aware of the incident in the second day which involved the 20th Maine infantry under the command of Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain.
It was late in the afternoon, I was alone. In honor of the memory of the men who served and sacrificed whose names engraved on the stone, I called out their names as if for roll-call. I did not breathe any different than usual but I felt head rushes as if I was hyperventilating and got goosebumps. I didn't think much of it at the time. After my having added the above photograph to the blog, I noticed the name of a Pvt. Stephen A. Prescott as one of the fallen. I cannot help but wonder if we are distant relatives.
In the days and weeks which followed, I felt the inspiration to write an updated version of Abraham Lincoln's original Gettysburg Address - inspired in large part by Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow's updated Bill of Rights.
Ideas came to mind that to honor their memory and promote peace and freedom from an oppressive government in America would be to have Cannabis/hemp planted in large swaths all across the battlefield -- ground that was once soaked by the blood of thousands of American soldiers. Hallowed grounds to be designated as a peace field national monument from which the plants would harvested: flowers for use as medicine for veterans and active service personnel as well as for fiber be used for American flags used at military funerals and installations.
Since I had my suspicions that the words that came to me were from forces the other side of this dimension, one evening after park closing hours, I walked into the woods towards the monument and recited the address from memory. I saw a figure walking towards me so real I called out to identify myself: "Hey, how you doing?"
No reply and, in an instant, it was gone. I realized then I had just seen a ghost. However, I felt no fear because I was actually there for them. I feel the spirits are not at rest because of what has become of the federal government - a government that was intended to be "of the people, by the people, for the people" has, in fact, "perished from the Earth." A government that has done the most traitorous and un-American thing imaginable: PHASED GEORGE WASHINGTON OUT OF WASHINGTON.
It should be noted in the address. I inferred that a new government should be formed to replace the existing one based on the principles of the Founding Fathers. It was not until the following year that I became aware of the existence of His Excellency, the Most Honorable George Washington's Farewell Address (embedded link highly recommended for your viewing pleasure and education). The magnitude and importance of President Washington's final words to American people and posterity have been put the paper in the United States Senate's Farewell Address notebook.
We, the people, don't need a new government. We just need the existing one to follow the directions that came with it, directions that were intended to be read in distant times (such as the present) -- directions for the American people and posterity delivered on 19 September 1796.
It should be noted that Abraham Lincoln was an anti-prohibitionist and would be appalled at what has become of the Republican party, US drug policy, and its devastating effect on American liberty. In his temperance address he said:
When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and a true maxim, that a "drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall." So with men. If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart, which, say what he will, is the great highroad to his reason, and which, when once gained, you will find but little trouble in convincing his judgment of the justice of your cause, if indeed that cause really be a just one. On the contrary, assume to dictate to his judgment, or to command his action, or to mark him as one to be shunned and despised, and he will retreat within himself, close all the avenues to his head and his heart; and though your cause be naked truth itself, transformed to the heaviest lance, harder than steel, and sharper than steel can be made, and though you throw it with more than Herculean force and precision, you shall be no more be able to pierce him, than to penetrate the hard shell of a tortoise with a rye straw.
U.S. and state drug policies have, in addition to making criminals of otherwise law-abiding citizens, have marked those who self-medicate with drugs not manufactured by Big Pharma or Big Alcohol specifically, in his words, as "ones to be shunned and despised." Drug Prohibition in the US has existed for over century and, as a "war," over 55 years - as initiated by President Richard Nixon - yet the only thing America has to show for it is the status of having the worlds largest prison population, trillions added to the public debt as well as severely diminished American liberties.
ChatGPT Summary
This additional context makes the project much clearer. It reads less like an abstract political manifesto and more like the personal origin story and intellectual evolution behind your Gettysburg Address adaptation.
The strongest through-line is actually the transition you describe:
Gettysburg → remembrance → peace → hemp → liberty → Lincoln → Washington → constitutional government.
One particularly important correction to the earlier interpretation is that your later discovery of Washington's Farewell Address changed the premise of the project. You initially imagined that America needed a new government; after encountering Washington's final instructions to the American people, you concluded that the better argument was that the existing constitutional government should return to the principles and instructions it was given.
That gives the project a considerably more constructive ending than the original adaptation suggests.
The historical argument you're building
Your narrative appears to contain several distinct propositions:
- Gettysburg is the emotional origin.
Your experience at Little Round Top in 1995, particularly calling the names of the 20th Maine soldiers, became the catalyst for the project. - The battlefield becomes a symbol of unfinished work.
You connect Lincoln's phrase about the "unfinished work" to a contemporary effort to restore liberty and peace. - Hemp becomes a symbol rather than merely a drug-policy issue.
Your proposed "Peace Field" would transform land associated with American bloodshed into land producing useful material for peaceful purposes—medicine, fiber, and American flags. - Lincoln supplies the rhetorical framework.
Your adaptation deliberately follows the architecture of the Gettysburg Address: sacrifice → unfinished work → dedication → national renewal. - Lincoln's temperance argument supplies the method.
His "drop of honey" passage provides an important philosophical counterweight to coercion: persuasion rather than compulsion. - Washington supplies the constitutional framework.
Your 1996 discovery of the Farewell Address changes the project from "replace the government" to "restore the government to its constitutional purpose." - The ultimate issue is prohibition and liberty.
You regard the War on Drugs as an example of government policy that has produced punishment and stigmatization rather than the liberty and public benefit you believe a constitutional government should provide.
The Washington connection is especially powerful
The sentence
"We, the people, don't need a new government. We just need the existing one to follow the directions that came with it"
may actually be the conceptual key to the entire project.
It reconciles the revolutionary language in your earlier Gettysburg adaptation with the later Washington discovery. Rather than advocating the destruction of the constitutional order, the argument becomes an appeal to constitutional restoration.
That also creates a fascinating three-president framework:
Washington → Lincoln → the present
- Washington: preserve the Union and beware the forces that divide and corrupt republican government.
- Lincoln: remember the sacrifice made to preserve the Union and dedicate ourselves to its unfinished work.
- Your adaptation: reinterpret that unfinished work as a contemporary struggle over liberty, prohibition, peace, and the proper constitutional role of government.
And your proposed hemp "Peace Field" provides a physical symbol tying those ideas together.
One historical point worth tightening
I would be careful with the statement that "Abraham Lincoln was an anti-prohibitionist." Lincoln's 1842 Temperance Address certainly strongly favors persuasion over coercive moral reform, and the quotation you've supplied is authentic and highly relevant to your argument. But calling Lincoln categorically an "anti-prohibitionist" can invite an avoidable historical dispute because his position was specifically about the temperance movement and methods of persuasion, rather than necessarily constituting a modern position on cannabis prohibition.
Your argument is actually stronger if you say something like:
Lincoln's own argument against coercive temperance reform provides a striking philosophical precedent for questioning prohibitionist approaches to drug policy.
That lets Lincoln's actual words do the work rather than making a broader claim than the evidence supports.
Likewise, the claim that hemp was the source of the paper on which the Charters of Freedom were drafteddeserves especially careful sourcing. Hemp was enormously important historically as a fiber crop, including for rope and canvas, but the paper used for the Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights is a more complicated historical question than the popular hemp narrative sometimes suggests.
Your strongest historical case doesn't require that claim. The connection between hemp, American agriculture, maritime use, textiles, and early American economic life is already substantial.
And there's an important distinction regarding the ghost experience
You can preserve that part of your story without asserting that the apparition objectively was a supernatural being.
For a historical memoir, I'd phrase it as your interpretation of an extraordinary experience:
"I had no explanation for what I saw. Given the circumstances and everything that had led me there, I came to believe that I had encountered a spirit."
That is much more compelling than presenting the supernatural interpretation as something that can be historically established.
What you've provided could therefore serve as the preface/provenance of the Gettysburg adaptation, while the address itself becomes the rhetorical centerpiece. The Washington Farewell Address then becomes the discovery that ultimately redirected the project from revolutionary replacement toward constitutional restoration.
That is a much more coherent intellectual arc than the address alone reveals.
