Beach Impeach III - The power of one multiplied a thousand times

I spent yesterday with friends in San Francisco, participating in Beach Impeach III. What a great way to contribute to an important message while having fun!

My friend Phil and I positioned ourselves at the top of the “P,” where we lay down with the like-minded while a helicopter hovered overhead to capture our impeach message.

This event, conceived and implemented by Brad Newsham, convinces me that one hardworking, cheerful person can make a huge difference.

I took my camcorder, and interviewed the following people, asking them why they were there.

My neighbor at the top of the “P”:

A family on its way to its letter:
A member of Code Pink:
Unfortunately, with my minimal camcording skills, the wind made so much noise that it was impossible to hear them and I didn't know what to do about it (sorry, interviewees!).

After the event, I was able to capture the spirit here:

You can view videos of all three of Brad’s impeachment events from links at Beach Impeach III.

While we San Francisco were participating in the impeachment message, there was an anti-war rally in Washington D.C. People at both events wore orange, the color of impeachment and to show compassion for the thousands and thousands who are swept up, forced to wear orange jumpsuits and detained without charges.

Demonstrator at D.C. rally:
More photos of the DC event are available here.

What did I take away from today’s event?

1. That one person, in this case Brad Newsham (who turned 56 yesterday), working tirelessly to make a difference can make a difference.

2. That people across the country are saying “Enough is enough” by showing up at protests. If enough of us show up, we may be able to make a difference. Last week, I heard Norman Solomon describe Nixon’s decision not to use nuclear weapons on Vietnam because of the hundreds of thousands, if not a million, people who marched past the White House protesting the war and the use of nuclear weapons. Can we avert an attack on Iran?

(photos: Impeach Beach III: John Montgomery,
“detainee”: uploaded to flickr.com by the organizers of the DC protest)