If a Tree Falls....

No hike this past weekend, as I was bed-ridden with a nasty case of food poisoning.  The culprit: Vegetarian Fried Rice at Fu-Ga downtown.  The result: one very sick Cody.

In my lethargic stupor, the only energy I could muster was expended watching football and movies.  In fact, I managed to watch two movies with the word “Tree” in the title: Tree of Life and a documentary called If a Tree Falls.  Because I have only a vague understanding of what the hell Malick was trying to communicate in his high-concept treatise on God, nature, and family, I think I’ll focus on the latter film.

If you want a film to challenge your brain a little, without putting you through a twenty-minute interlude depicting the dawn of the universe, then this “Tree” film is the way to go...

In the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) rose to prominence in the U.S. as a radical environmentalist group.  Using arson as their key weapon, they took aim at logging companies, SUV dealerships, GMO farmers, and other perpetrators of eco-crimes, causing millions of dollars in property damage.  Daniel McGowan was at the forefront of a number of major ELF missions, and he is also the central character of the documentary.

--Check out the trailer--

We watch as McGowan, a slovenly and disgruntled dude, recounts his involvement with the ELF and endures house arrest, unsure of his fate in the eyes of the law.  All interesting stuff, but for me, the real mind-bender was considering whether or not the ELF ought to be deemed a terrorist organization.  The news media and FBI alike labeled it as such, yet not a single person has been injured or harmed in any ELF attack.  So are they eco-terrorists or simply vandals and arsonists?  Tricky stuff, but it’s an important question to answer, as the label of “terrorist” in a post-9/11 world is not only an unsavory title, but its one that carries weighty legal consequences. 

“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” an investigator says in the film, and indeed the adage seems true.  Do I agree with much of the ELF’s pro-environment rah-rah rhetoric?  I’m a California vegetarian who just started a hiking blog -- so yeah.  Do I agree with the ELF’s means of accomplishing their goals?  No.  So this then raises an interesting dilemma, one that is at the core of the film and ELF movement and one that my brain has yet to resolve: how do you enact social change when all means of civil protest have failed?  What is the appropriate course of action when your screams for revolution fall upon deaf ears?  What then?

So ultimately, are the members of the Earth Liberation Front terrorists?  According to this definition, yeah, it seems like they are in my opinion.  But by the same token, many organizations, including some national governments, might also classify.  Again: Terrorist/Freedom-Fighter.  As fascinatingly complicated as it is, the debate over loaded language and slippery slopes distracts from the real issue at hand, the one the ELF fought so hard against: the degradation of our environment.  No rant necessary here, just a simple reminder to be cognizant of the resources used and products consumed on a daily basis…and to get out and enjoy our parks, which I hope to do this weekend barring another dietary fiasco.

Check out the film to see what happens to Daniel McGowan and whether or not he’s ruled a “terrorist” in a court of law, and let me know what you think about the conundrums the film raises.