Peace

As a graduate of UC Berkeley, I am accustomed to unique personalities roaming onto campuses to proclaim their beliefs. I'm all for free speech. In the words of one of my favorite movie presidents, Andrew Shepherd, in his powerful speech at the end of The American President,

"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, 'You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.'"

Absolutely! However, at Berkeley, the speakers are on Sproul Plaza. You don't see them in the quads of the dorms, or on the lawn of a fraternity, or in front of apartment complexes. They are somewhat self-contained. Here in D.C., however, people seem to think that the expanse of scraggy grass that runs along the I-395 off-ramp next to my dormitory, is a great place to express themselves. And, you know, I'm even okay with that. Hand out pamphlets, give speeches, sell things to the cars stopped in traffic... go for it!

However, I think the man currently standing outside my window with a bullhorn is crossing the line. He is proclaiming the salvation of Jesus Christ, but he is not doing so in a productive manner. I doubt that law students studying for final exams will be receptive to his disruptively loud message. (We have double-paned windows that block out the sound of the interstate, and I can still hear him.) I've been told that he always comes by the law school during finals season to wreak havoc, including by directing his bullhorn at the library, which also borders the off-ramp. I just don't think that the Prince of Peace would try to reach out to people in this way.

I hope he finds peace, in more ways than one.