Recently there's been a lot of discussion about outsiders/protesters getting involved in issues that have an impact on the area near where I live. It's an interesting discussion for a couple of reasons. Seneca Lake, the Finger Lakes Region and Watkins Glen are in fact tourist areas that sell themselves to tourists (outsiders). The sell is obviously for business purposes. Tourists and tourism bring dollars to the area. Many businesses depend on these transactions and the tax revenue also impacts services and reduces pressure on property taxes. But there's another side to the business transaction. Tourists, visitors, customers sometimes come with different perspectives, different values and perhaps new and different ideas. It's really no different then other economic development transactions. Outside companies come to an area with their ideas of quality of life, development, etc. Sometimes welcome, sometimes not.
Ideas from visitors, neighbors or developers can be similar to ones generally held in a community but sometimes they clash. It can be good for everyone, or it can be horrible, but it is a natural process of growth. What attracts tourists to a place - the beauty, the quiet, the ambience, are sometimes lost as more people discover a particular community or region. But every new person brings the potential of new ideas and that's not bad. These people create diversity of thought, talent, cultures and experiences along with their sought after dollars. In the end some of them stay because they're seeking something the area has to offer. As in many communities they will be known as outsiders by natives for 30+ years. Who decides who an outsider is or where the boundaries lie can also be a puzzle. Is someone from Watkins Glen an outsider in the town of Reading or somewhere else on the shores of a lake that has 70 miles of shore line? Is it based on mileage or years spent in a region?
In my view you just can't have it both ways. You can't promote your area as the mecca where everyone should come to spend their dollars and then be upset because these 'outsiders' have different views, looks, values and ideas.
I believe the use of the term outsiders is in itself divisive. Telling people they're not part of your community is the last thing a tourist community should want to do. Somehow there has to be a line of communication built on tolerance and respect that helps people find and build on common beliefs rather then differences.
The current discussion has also identified the old concept of the silent majority vs a vocal minority. Personally I don't think it really leads anywhere. The reality is that discussion also creates some false barriers. It seems what people always want is for their side to become more vocal and it all becomes a circular argument.
The discussion about Methane and LPGas being stored in salt caverns around Seneca Lake should really be more fact based rather then an emotional one about where someone lives. It's a valid discussion for anyone living in or near the area, anyone depending on the lake for water or recreational uses, or for people truly worried about environmental issues. Some people feel they've had that fact based discussion with all of the public officials they can and it has fallen on deaf ears. They are resorting to a form of protest that many dislike but one that has a long history in our country and throughout the world. Non-violent, civil disobedience has always had a role in our society and probably always will. You can dislike it, disagree with it or bemoan it but it has accomplished many things in the past. That's the other thing about not being able to have it both ways - you break the law and you pay the consequences and it doesn't matter if you're an outsider or an insider. People start thinking and discussing and that's the point.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Why I Am In Jail - Sandra Steingraber
The following letter was written on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 by Sandra Steingraber. It was published today by EcoWatch. Steingraber certainly understands the principles of non-violence and civil disobedience. But she understands a lot more and it comes through in her writing. I've decided to just publish her letter with no other commentary - The Gadfly
Breakfast in the Chemung County Jail is served at 5 a.m. This morning—Friday, November 21, 2014—it was Cheerios and milk plus two slaps of universally-despised “breakfast cake.” Along with trays of food—which are passed through the bars—arrive the morning rounds of meds for the inmates who take them. Now comes my favorite time of day in jail—the two quiet hours between breakfast and 7 a.m. before the television clicks on and we are ordered to make our beds and the loud day begins. Between the end of breakfast and 7 a.m., most women go back to sleep. Now I can hear only the sounds of their breathing—different rhythms all—and, on the far side of the steel door—the occasional voices of the C.O.s (correction officers, a.k.a. the guards) and the walkie-talkie orders they themselves are receiving.
Meanwhile, my bed is already made and I have repurposed my small laundry basket—by flipping it upside down—into a table on which I am writing. And because I am a writer who is writing, I am happy.
I am also happy because I know that, by writing, I am fulfilling a promise to Ashley (not her real name) who brought me last night a sharpened pencil and a stack of inmate medical request forms to use as writing paper. After hearing my story—narrated through the bars of my cell as I am being kept in “keeplock” until the results of my TB screening come back—Ashley said, “I know about you Seneca Lake protesters. I read about that. But only once. You have to keep fighting. You have to write to the newspaper. You can do that from here, you know. You can’t just sit in your cell for 14 days and do nothing. You have to fight.” And then she ran off and found me paper.
Sitting on a stool outside my cell—which is welded to the far row of bars—Ashley freely dispensed advice last night for the We Are Seneca Lake movement. “Don’t give up. Keep writing the newspapers. They are always looking for stories.” She added, “I may be only 21, but I’m wise about some things.”
Here’s Ashley’s story: She was arrested two years ago—at age 19—for stealing a pumpkin. She is jailed now for violating probation. She has three kids—ages 6, 4 and 2—who are staying with her foster mother in Allegany County until she serves her time. She’ll be out the day after Christmas. Meanwhile, she’s studying for her GED and laying plans to go to college.
Half the women in my cell block are here for probation violation. One thing they all agree on: It’s almost impossible to be a single mother in search of housing and a job, both of which require mobility, and comply with probation rules, which restrict mobility. Better to do the time and then make a fresh start.
I get that. And it’s a logic that runs parallel to my own. I have come to believe that a successful civil disobedience campaign likewise depends on the willingness of at least some of us to gladly accept jail time over other kinds of sentences, such as paying fines.
There are four reasons for this. First, it shows respect for the law. In my case, I was arrested for trespassing on the driveway of a Texas-based energy company that has the sole intention of turning the crumbling salt mines underneath the hillside into massive gas tanks for the highly-pressurized products of fracking: methane, propane and butane. (The part of the plan involving methane storage has already been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). Even before the infrastructure for this gas storage is built, Crestwood Midstream has polluted the lake with salt, at levels that exceed its legal limits. Crestwood’s response is to pay a fine and keep polluting. By contrast, I refuse to pay a fine to excuse my crime and so accepted the lawful consequences of my actions.
Second, extending one’s civil disobedience testimony in jail shows seriousness of intent. Four of the 17 civil disobedients who have so far been arraigned as part of the We Are Seneca Lake campaign have chosen jail instead of fines: 75-year-old Dwain Wilder, a veteran of the Navy who was incarcerated for Veteran’s Day; 86-year-old Roland Micklem, a Quaker, who is now incarcerated in the Schuyler County Jail [Roland Micklem was released yesterday due to health concern]; 58-year-old Colleen Boland, a retired Air Force sergeant who served in the White House; and me (I’m a 55-year-old biologist and author).
Colleen occupies the cell next to mine. We talk through the wall. Colleen, Roland and I are on track to find out what they serve prisoners for Thanksgiving dinner.
By our willing separation from our families, by our sacrifice and consent to suffer, by our very absence, we are saying that we object in the strongest terms to the transformation of our beloved Finger Lakes community into a hub for fracking. We object to the occupation of our lakeshore by a Houston-based corporation that seeks to further build out fossil-fuel infrastructure in a time of climate emergency, and in so doing, imperils a source of drinking water for 100,000 people.
Third, by filling the jails with mothers, elders and veterans, we peacefully provoke a crisis that cannot be ignored by media or political leaders. Of course, civil disobedience is always a method of last recourse, deployed when all other methods of addressing a grievance have been exhausted. We have turned over all stones. We have submitted comments, written letters, offered testimony, filed Freedom of Information requests for secret documents—only to see our legitimate concerns brushed aside. Our incarceration shows that the regulatory system is broken. So far, in the Seneca Lake campaign, there have been 59 arrests, and a majority of those have yet to be sentenced. There will be more of us in jail before the year is out.
And the fourth reason is this: spending time in jail is a time of personal transformation. Alone with a pencil, some inmate request forms for stationery, the Bible and your own thoughts, you discover that you are braver than you knew. You are doing time, and time offers the possibility of rededicating oneself to the necessary work ahead: dismantling the fossil fuel industry in the last 20 years left to us, before the climate crisis spins into unfixable, unending calamity.
Last night I learned how to create a tool for changing the channel on the television, which blares from the other side of two rows of bars. It involves twisting newspaper around a row of pencils and stiffening it with toothpaste.
Thus do the women of the Chemung County Jail—all mothers—exert agency over the circumstances of their lives and defy the status quo. That’s a skill set we all need. As Ashley scolded me last night, while passing a sharpened pencil through the bars, “You can’t just sit there for the next 14 days. Start fighting.”
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Arrests At Crestwood Continue
Arrests are continuing at the Crestwood facility in the Town of Reading, where federal approval has been given for the Texas based company to construct the infrastructure to store LP Gas in abandoned salt caverns around and under Seneca Lake. I've written about that plan previously. This week arrests began on Monday morning Nov. 17th. Ten people were arrested for blocking the entrance to Crestwood off of Rt 14. Then again this morning, eight others blockaded two gates at about 7am and were arrested by 7:30. They join others who have been arrested over the past few weeks.
These are brave citizens in my opinion. They have worked tirelessly to educate themselves and others about the issue of Gas Storage in Reading. They have taken steps to communicate and request action with and from government officials. They've studied civil disobedience and understand its consequences and value. They are a mix of young and old.
Most recently they are being attacked for being outsiders and for putting the citizens of Schuyler County at risk and in danger by tying up police agencies and resources with their activities. These attacks are pretty typical arguments by people in power who try to discredit demonstrators. They are the same criticisms made in every case of public assembly to protest the status quo. When these attacks occur, they are usually prefaced or followed by statements supporting the first amendment and peoples' right to protest but........The but is always there - but others are being put in danger - but there are better ways to make your point - but what if everyone did this - but the law has to be upheld. There are many more buts and we'll most likely hear them while people explain their support of the first amendment, but.
Now to be clear, these Lake Defenders are doing more then expressing their first amendment rights. They are challenging the law. They are blocking access to private property. They are also prepared to take the consequences.
What about the fact that they're outsiders? Well, some are and some aren't but so what. Crestwood is an outsider. Tourists are outsiders. Companies being sought for economic development tend to be outsiders. None of this really matters in the world we live in today. We're all connected - sometimes in ways that are good and sometimes in very bad ways. But let's accept the fact that these are people who are concerned about water that impacts 100,000 plus people.
These folks are a danger to public safety? The argument goes something like this. Schuyler is a small, rural county. Its police agency is limited and when they are tied up with protests and arresting people, everyone else is at risk because they (the police) could not respond appropriately to an emergency. Police agencies have the responsibility to protect all citizens, including those protesting and expressing their displeasure with government. They have the responsibility to enforce the law. It seems pretty ludicrous though to say this fairly small group of protesters are endangering public safety when what they are protesting is the storage of volatile gas under an important source of clean and critical water. It's also ludicrous to believe these activities somehow are equal to the stress placed on police agencies when 90,000+ people attend the NASCAR event in Watkins Glen. There are also many festivals, events and just increased traffic related to tourism that places stress and/or danger on public safety. The reality though is that how those situations are dealt with are through proper management and cooperation with other police agencies.
These folks are breaking the law and they know it. At this point it's one of the only avenues that they have left to get the attention of government, the media and the public. They are willing to pay the consequences for their actions. You can read about them at their website We Are Seneca Lake. You may even be able to catch a live feed of their actions.
These are brave citizens in my opinion. They have worked tirelessly to educate themselves and others about the issue of Gas Storage in Reading. They have taken steps to communicate and request action with and from government officials. They've studied civil disobedience and understand its consequences and value. They are a mix of young and old.
Most recently they are being attacked for being outsiders and for putting the citizens of Schuyler County at risk and in danger by tying up police agencies and resources with their activities. These attacks are pretty typical arguments by people in power who try to discredit demonstrators. They are the same criticisms made in every case of public assembly to protest the status quo. When these attacks occur, they are usually prefaced or followed by statements supporting the first amendment and peoples' right to protest but........The but is always there - but others are being put in danger - but there are better ways to make your point - but what if everyone did this - but the law has to be upheld. There are many more buts and we'll most likely hear them while people explain their support of the first amendment, but.
Now to be clear, these Lake Defenders are doing more then expressing their first amendment rights. They are challenging the law. They are blocking access to private property. They are also prepared to take the consequences.
What about the fact that they're outsiders? Well, some are and some aren't but so what. Crestwood is an outsider. Tourists are outsiders. Companies being sought for economic development tend to be outsiders. None of this really matters in the world we live in today. We're all connected - sometimes in ways that are good and sometimes in very bad ways. But let's accept the fact that these are people who are concerned about water that impacts 100,000 plus people.
These folks are a danger to public safety? The argument goes something like this. Schuyler is a small, rural county. Its police agency is limited and when they are tied up with protests and arresting people, everyone else is at risk because they (the police) could not respond appropriately to an emergency. Police agencies have the responsibility to protect all citizens, including those protesting and expressing their displeasure with government. They have the responsibility to enforce the law. It seems pretty ludicrous though to say this fairly small group of protesters are endangering public safety when what they are protesting is the storage of volatile gas under an important source of clean and critical water. It's also ludicrous to believe these activities somehow are equal to the stress placed on police agencies when 90,000+ people attend the NASCAR event in Watkins Glen. There are also many festivals, events and just increased traffic related to tourism that places stress and/or danger on public safety. The reality though is that how those situations are dealt with are through proper management and cooperation with other police agencies.
These folks are breaking the law and they know it. At this point it's one of the only avenues that they have left to get the attention of government, the media and the public. They are willing to pay the consequences for their actions. You can read about them at their website We Are Seneca Lake. You may even be able to catch a live feed of their actions.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Clocks, Time & Time Changes
Normal Time has arrived and with it some struggles, thoughts and rest. Normal time is when we fall back an hour from Daylight Savings Time. I don't understand any of it. I'm supposed to feel better but I'm always lazy and tired when the change is made. No difference this year. Its been a few weeks but my body clock is out of step, messed up and confused like many of you I would guess. Supposedly I got an extra hour of sleep but then again, I stayed up later. Help!
All of this brings me to clocks and specifically, the clocks in my house. I grew up in a clock family. My father was infatuated with clocks. He collected them and had them ticking throughout his house. I'm not sure if this was a shared love between him and my mother or if she just put up with it. Perhaps he just put up with it but after her death became more attached to the things she loved. Whatever the case, they had every kind of clock and they have been distributed among his sons and daughters. There were mantel clocks, cuckoo clocks, grandfather clocks, 7 day, 30 day and school house clocks. They would tick, tick, tock, tock all over the place. A few would chime on the hour and others on the half or quarter hour. It was always a surprise, depending on where you were in the house, what you would hear and when you would hear it. Some of them would chime together, others would go off on their own schedule within a minute or two of the first. I believe his goal was to one day get them all coordinated but he never did.
I remember visiting him one day in his later years. He had one of the clocks in a hundred or more pieces laid out on the kitchen table. A lamp was set up with the cord stretching dangerously across a walk space. He had gotten himself a set of small pliers and screw drivers and was working away on this latest project. He got things working to his satisfaction (chimes within five minutes of the other clocks). He also spent lots of time (no pun intended) cleaning, dusting and polishing his collection. To be honest, I enjoyed watching him and the homeyness I felt when all of those clocks started their chant.
All of that brings me to my clocks. Oh, of course I have the digital clocks that keep us all on schedule - the mobile phone, the appliance clocks and so forth. All of these are set on nuclear time or something of that sort. In my front room I have a Seth Thomas mantel clock. A modern, battery operated quarter hour chimer. I changed batteries about a month ago and something strange happened. The pendulum works but the hands don't move. It has been stuck on 5 after 8. In the hallway, I have a nice mission oak wall clock. It's supposed to chime on the hour and 1/2 hour. No luck, it sits stuck on either noon or midnight. In my living room I have one of the clocks my father left me, a nice school room wall clock. I've had it repaired at least three times and right now the hands are stuck on 8:55.
So please, if you ever come to visit, wear a watch or bring your cell phone. Time here is pretty relative - 5 after 8, noon or midnight, or 8:55.
Update - the battery clock hands have started moving again but it's losing an hour for every 12. Chimes are nice but have nothing to do with the actual time.
All of this brings me to clocks and specifically, the clocks in my house. I grew up in a clock family. My father was infatuated with clocks. He collected them and had them ticking throughout his house. I'm not sure if this was a shared love between him and my mother or if she just put up with it. Perhaps he just put up with it but after her death became more attached to the things she loved. Whatever the case, they had every kind of clock and they have been distributed among his sons and daughters. There were mantel clocks, cuckoo clocks, grandfather clocks, 7 day, 30 day and school house clocks. They would tick, tick, tock, tock all over the place. A few would chime on the hour and others on the half or quarter hour. It was always a surprise, depending on where you were in the house, what you would hear and when you would hear it. Some of them would chime together, others would go off on their own schedule within a minute or two of the first. I believe his goal was to one day get them all coordinated but he never did.
I remember visiting him one day in his later years. He had one of the clocks in a hundred or more pieces laid out on the kitchen table. A lamp was set up with the cord stretching dangerously across a walk space. He had gotten himself a set of small pliers and screw drivers and was working away on this latest project. He got things working to his satisfaction (chimes within five minutes of the other clocks). He also spent lots of time (no pun intended) cleaning, dusting and polishing his collection. To be honest, I enjoyed watching him and the homeyness I felt when all of those clocks started their chant.
All of that brings me to my clocks. Oh, of course I have the digital clocks that keep us all on schedule - the mobile phone, the appliance clocks and so forth. All of these are set on nuclear time or something of that sort. In my front room I have a Seth Thomas mantel clock. A modern, battery operated quarter hour chimer. I changed batteries about a month ago and something strange happened. The pendulum works but the hands don't move. It has been stuck on 5 after 8. In the hallway, I have a nice mission oak wall clock. It's supposed to chime on the hour and 1/2 hour. No luck, it sits stuck on either noon or midnight. In my living room I have one of the clocks my father left me, a nice school room wall clock. I've had it repaired at least three times and right now the hands are stuck on 8:55.
So please, if you ever come to visit, wear a watch or bring your cell phone. Time here is pretty relative - 5 after 8, noon or midnight, or 8:55.
Update - the battery clock hands have started moving again but it's losing an hour for every 12. Chimes are nice but have nothing to do with the actual time.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Civil Disobedience at Seneca Lake
I've been thinking a lot lately about the arrests that are taking place at the Crestwood facility in Reading, NY, just north of Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake. A total of 25 people have been arrested over the past few weeks while blocking the entrance to Crestwood on Rt 14.
The ongoing protests are about Crestwood's plan to use salt caverns under Seneca Lake to store LP and Methane Gas. There are lots of articles about the issue that can be found by doing a fairly simple search.
Being a Lake Keeper or Defender of the Lake is serious business and these folks are proving it. I have considered myself a Lake Keeper for quite awhile. My feelings and commitment go back a long time. I first became aware of Seneca Lake when I was 5 years old. My father and a business associate brought my brother and I to Seneca on fishing trips in those early years. They were the years that I became aware of the water and its importance. Later I spent summers on the waters around Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. I also lived at the Jersey Shore in those early years. All of these experiences brought me close to the water - fishing, swimming, boating. I learned respect for the water as well as a real love for it.
I moved to this area in the late '70's and reunited with Seneca Lake. I had a small sailboat at the Last Ditch Marina in Watkins Glen and later, a powerboat at the newly built Village Marina. I've lived in a number of houses and owned property on the shores of Seneca. My love affair and relationship with Seneca has been long and solid.
Like many others I have evolved as a Lake Keeper. There were times in my life when I didn't respect this or other great waterways as a natural resource. I have seen and been a part of the fishing lines discarded, the beer bottles and cans finding their way into the lake, a small overflow of gas as a motor was being filled. I've watched and seen the plastic bags being thrown into the water along with trash like wood, metal and concrete. The agricultural runoff of fertilizer and chemicals has been reduced but does continue. All of these things have helped me evolve and see how serious the problem really is for Seneca Lake and many other bodies of water.
I say this because I want to make it clear that the issues we have relative to protecting our water is much more complicated then just an outside corporation storing gas in salt caverns. Just yesterday I watched a farmer not very far above the lake spread cow manure on his fields. Multiplied by hundreds, it will have an eventual impact. A recent report by Seneca Lake Pure Waters indicates that testing streams feeding into Seneca Lake shows she is being choked by phosphorous - Seneca Lake Choking. We are all part of the problem and therefore have to be part of the solution. Here's the reality though. We can hold individuals much more accountable than we can a corporation, especially one driven by fuel and fuel storage profits. It doesn't mean we shouldn't try - we certainly should. I also think we have to be careful about holding up the wine industry and tourism as being so totally environmentally friendly and pitted against a corporation like Crestwood. If we're really honest about it, wineries, breweries and tourism bring their own baggage to the environment including the aforementioned agricultural runoff, traffic and social consequences. Many small rural roads were never meant to handle the bus and limo traffic that is part of the tourism reality. Bringing thousands of people to an area has its pros and cons. Community planning, community conversations and people caring about their environment is important in all aspects of what is easily touted as economic development - always.
These Defenders of the Lake have certainly made us think. Their arrests are significant and important even if law enforcement and the opposition want to make us think it is all pretty minimal and, if anything, creating safety issues in the community.
You see, civil disobedience is very serious business. It's something people need to think about very clearly. It has consequences, some unknown. I happen to believe in civil disobedience as a strategy and at times as a moral imperative. I have been arrested numerous times protesting or fighting for social justice issues. It should never be taken lightly. There are times when justice screams out at you about laws that need to be broken. This may in fact be one of them. I'm not completely sure yet, but I have a feeling.
I went back recently and re-read Henry David Thoreau's piece on Civil Disobedience. It was written in 1849. Many people may have skimmed over it in high school or college as part of their reading and study of Thoreau's work Walden. Thoreau makes the case but doesn't do it lightly. He recognizes the consequences for both the individual and for society.
I sense more people will commit to civil disobedience and be arrested before it's over. Hopefully these acts will not be taken lightly and many more people will begin talking about and thinking about the importance of our natural resources.
The ongoing protests are about Crestwood's plan to use salt caverns under Seneca Lake to store LP and Methane Gas. There are lots of articles about the issue that can be found by doing a fairly simple search.
Being a Lake Keeper or Defender of the Lake is serious business and these folks are proving it. I have considered myself a Lake Keeper for quite awhile. My feelings and commitment go back a long time. I first became aware of Seneca Lake when I was 5 years old. My father and a business associate brought my brother and I to Seneca on fishing trips in those early years. They were the years that I became aware of the water and its importance. Later I spent summers on the waters around Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. I also lived at the Jersey Shore in those early years. All of these experiences brought me close to the water - fishing, swimming, boating. I learned respect for the water as well as a real love for it.
I moved to this area in the late '70's and reunited with Seneca Lake. I had a small sailboat at the Last Ditch Marina in Watkins Glen and later, a powerboat at the newly built Village Marina. I've lived in a number of houses and owned property on the shores of Seneca. My love affair and relationship with Seneca has been long and solid.
Like many others I have evolved as a Lake Keeper. There were times in my life when I didn't respect this or other great waterways as a natural resource. I have seen and been a part of the fishing lines discarded, the beer bottles and cans finding their way into the lake, a small overflow of gas as a motor was being filled. I've watched and seen the plastic bags being thrown into the water along with trash like wood, metal and concrete. The agricultural runoff of fertilizer and chemicals has been reduced but does continue. All of these things have helped me evolve and see how serious the problem really is for Seneca Lake and many other bodies of water.
I say this because I want to make it clear that the issues we have relative to protecting our water is much more complicated then just an outside corporation storing gas in salt caverns. Just yesterday I watched a farmer not very far above the lake spread cow manure on his fields. Multiplied by hundreds, it will have an eventual impact. A recent report by Seneca Lake Pure Waters indicates that testing streams feeding into Seneca Lake shows she is being choked by phosphorous - Seneca Lake Choking. We are all part of the problem and therefore have to be part of the solution. Here's the reality though. We can hold individuals much more accountable than we can a corporation, especially one driven by fuel and fuel storage profits. It doesn't mean we shouldn't try - we certainly should. I also think we have to be careful about holding up the wine industry and tourism as being so totally environmentally friendly and pitted against a corporation like Crestwood. If we're really honest about it, wineries, breweries and tourism bring their own baggage to the environment including the aforementioned agricultural runoff, traffic and social consequences. Many small rural roads were never meant to handle the bus and limo traffic that is part of the tourism reality. Bringing thousands of people to an area has its pros and cons. Community planning, community conversations and people caring about their environment is important in all aspects of what is easily touted as economic development - always.
These Defenders of the Lake have certainly made us think. Their arrests are significant and important even if law enforcement and the opposition want to make us think it is all pretty minimal and, if anything, creating safety issues in the community.
You see, civil disobedience is very serious business. It's something people need to think about very clearly. It has consequences, some unknown. I happen to believe in civil disobedience as a strategy and at times as a moral imperative. I have been arrested numerous times protesting or fighting for social justice issues. It should never be taken lightly. There are times when justice screams out at you about laws that need to be broken. This may in fact be one of them. I'm not completely sure yet, but I have a feeling.
I went back recently and re-read Henry David Thoreau's piece on Civil Disobedience. It was written in 1849. Many people may have skimmed over it in high school or college as part of their reading and study of Thoreau's work Walden. Thoreau makes the case but doesn't do it lightly. He recognizes the consequences for both the individual and for society.
I sense more people will commit to civil disobedience and be arrested before it's over. Hopefully these acts will not be taken lightly and many more people will begin talking about and thinking about the importance of our natural resources.
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