On 11 August 2009, William Kostric protested President Obama’s town hall meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He held a sign reading “It is time to water the tree of liberty!”, and legally carried an unconcealed handgun. In the media frenzy (mostly over the weapon) that ensued thereafter, Kostric says he has been struggling to make clear that his sign was not making a direct reference to the entire passage written by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William S. Smith in 1787. Jefferson’s words were:
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is a natural manure.
“It should have been evident simply through the fact that I left out with the blood of patriots and tyrants that this statement was not a deliberate, veiled attempt to incite violence. Just because I had a pistol right next to the sign, people are trying to twist my words,” Kostric insists. “I don’t understand how someone could jump to such a conclusion.
“Furthermore, I thought the Gadsden rattlesnake in the middle of the sign would be sufficient clarification of the meaning I intended to convey with the quote. It’s a mostly-forgotten symbol that bears no significance in present-day politics unless you happen to believe the Revolutionary War remains unfought. So I appropriated the image for my own purposes.”
Kostric’s true intentions with the quote became quite clear after a certain photo, reportedly taken after most camera crews packed up and left, surfaced almost a week later.
Missing the mark.
“I had been trying to tell the reporters all along that my paraphrase was a call I wished to broadcast to the entire nation… A call of nature, if you will,” said William. “But I fear the message was grossly misinterpreted. I chalk it up to a shy bladder. Do you know how difficult it is to urinate no-handed from behind a sign?
“Perhaps I could have chosen a more forward rephrasing of Jefferson’s words. However, “It is time to pee on the tree of liberty!” just doesn’t seem to have the same ring that my slogan does. And most obviously, urine is mostly water. How could anyone have overlooked that?”
Kostric says he will continue to advocate radical manipulation of historical imagery and writings to serve one’s own questionable purposes, especially whilst exercising the right of open carry of firearms where it is legal. He also states that he will maintain “a tough stance” on the issue of public urination (the legalization of which he supports), but “not too tough, because that messes with the pee stream. And I can’t keep changing my pants during demonstrations, you know.”
