obama on mount rushmore

On July 9, 2009 · 6 Comments · In adventures

My cousin got arrested yesterday. Not normally something you proclaim to the world. But here, look what he did:

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That’s right. My cousin is one of the Greenpeace rock climbers who put up the Stop Global Warming banner on Mount Rushmore. No kidding!

When I first heard about it, I thought, a banner? Dude, what good is a banner going to do, no matter how well, and symbolically, it is placed? Why put yourself at risk for a banner?

But then I thought, it’s not the banner, it’s the act of hanging it.

Hanging that banner is the opposite of despair and apathy and going along. Hanging that banner says We Want To Be Heard!!! WE CARE!!!! Because sometimes you have to speak up for the good of your own soul. Maybe the message gets through, maybe it doesn’t, but there is NO WAY you can be heard if you don’t speak.

These guys had the stones to speak.

I think that is AWESOME.

I don’t do the news much, so I don’t know how they are spinning it, but I did see one piece that claimed the guys had defaced Lincoln, a lie that really pissed me off. The climbers were very respectful of the site, using pre-existing rock climbing tie-ins for example, so that nothing would be damaged. And they put the banner beside Lincoln, not over him, with Obama’s face lined up with the other Big Presidents, to emphasize the obvious: Obama can be one of the greats if HE has the stones to do the right thing and work to save the planet.

It sounds so scifi, ‘save the planet!’ but in this case, it’s true.

I hope Obama realizes that the message doesn’t come from a dozen big hearted rock climbers, but from the many, many other people who stand behind these guys. I hope Obama listens.

Noah, you’re my hero!

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6 Responses to obama on mount rushmore

  1. Tracie says:
    July 9, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    GO NOAH!!!!!

  2. Deborah says:
    July 12, 2009 at 5:31 am

    Awesome. What a physical feat! And what a peaceful demonstration. I got goosebumps watching while thinking about the true message. It figures you’d be related to an activist, since your lifestyle itself is a form of activism of sorts. Save the planet!

  3. Jean Elizabeth Glass says:
    July 13, 2009 at 10:20 am

    Very cool! That was a great action with a right-on message!

  4. Mom says:
    July 14, 2009 at 10:24 am

    Well I’m the odd man out but here goes.I hope he enjoys his moment of fame because his police record will be with him for the rest of his life and surely have an effect on many future decisions. There are many less famboyant but more productive ways to make changes in our society. A tough judge could put that gentle, kind, young man in jail for 6 months and he would not be the same person coming out. While I agree with the message I do not agree with the method.

  5. maya says:
    July 14, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    You’ll be happy to hear, then, that the judge asked only for a fine, and that that fine has already been paid, by Greenpeace. It’s all settled, with no prison time for any of the participants.

  6. Rebecca Ross says:
    July 17, 2009 at 10:08 am

    I’m a Quaker and Quakers are notorious for getting arrested for civil disobedience. That’s why a lot of Quaker institutions look at why you’ve been arrested and have a record, not just that you have a record. Good for Noah, and standing up for what he believes in! His record will follow him, but that isn’t a bad thing.

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