What Will It Take?

Taxes were not the most exciting thing that happened on April 15, 2015. Doug Hughes landed a gyrocopter on the US Capitol lawn.

That act befuddled Secret Service. The media came out in droves and aired the clip throughout the day. In a day or two, the novelty became old news.

Doug started planning this stunt 2 ½ years before. Immediately, an anonymous “friend” reported him. A Secret Service man came to his house with a local deputy, at 1 a.m., to interrogate the potential terrorist. Doug was quite happy to answer all questions. Two days later, that agent showed up unannounced at the Post Office, where Doug worked, to ask his co-workers questions.

Then nothing. Doug Hughes was not arrested or lose his government job. Why? Everyone believed he was too sane or too timid to carry out such a crazy stunt. Even he wondered if he had the guts. It meant losing his freedom, his job, and his family. He might also lose his life just to make a point.

Because nothing happened, Doug continued to plan his mission. He chose the gyrocopter as a metaphor. They are non-threatening, and you can see right through them. He wanted everyone to know he was not a terrorist. He decked his gyrocopter out with cameras and sound, live fed to a website. At the beginning of April, he wrote his local newspaper explaining his mission and emphasizing the nonviolent aspect of his protest.

Again, nothing. It was just too crazy.

When he lifted off, a few people in his hometown watched. They waited to see if he would chicken out and turn around. The media finally called the Secret Service, who referred them to a public information officer, who put them on hold.

Only pedestrians noticed when Doug flew into the “no-fly zone.” No homeland-protection jet swooped in. No ground-to-air missiles marked him as a target. Without any opposition, Doug flew over the tourists and protesters and landed gently on the large grassy lawn.

What was his cause? Nonpartisan campaign finance reform. He was sick of our government run by the highest bidder. Doug simply wanted to be heard. To his landing gear, he strapped two boxes filled with stamped letters addressed to every state representative. He hoped these might get to the elected officials instead of sitting in a subordinate’s filing cabinet.

Most people agree change is needed. There are several plans available. Yet nothing happens. Why? The people responsible for implementing reform are those who benefit from the status quo.

Was Doug Hughes crazy? Let me pose the question a little differently. Is doing an extreme stunt, just to be heard, crazy?

For example, look at the biblical prophets. Were their extreme stunts crazy? Isaiah wandered around, naked for three years. Jeremiah wore a cattle yoke. Hosea deliberately married a prostitute who did not want to be his wife. Ezekiel ate a scroll, cut his hair with a sword, dug a hole through a wall, and staged mock battles against a clay city as he lay on the ground for over a year. They said God instructed them to act out of the ordinary. Isn’t that crazy?

Yet, they all had a point, and those points were not crazy. Those men desperately tried to get the people’s attention. They physically demonstrated the consequences of evil. The prophets had to take a stand. They were willing to forfeit comfort, freedom, and often their lives to emphasize their point. Yet today, even preachers debate their sanity.

When civil law does not condemn, we should still know when actions are not right, not ethical, and not good. Without that knowledge, civilization self-destructs, and hostile nations prevail.

Will anyone listen to Doug Hughes’ lesson? Will his crazy stunt change our complacency toward sin?