Actor Martin Sheen recited Rabindranath Tagore’s poem ‘Where The Mind Is Without Fear’ at the Fire Drill Friday protest in Washington DC.
The weekly climate action protest by veteran actor Jane Fonda has seen the presence of Martin Sheen, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon. Multiple celebrities have been arrested since the protests began, and according to reports, Sheen and Joker star Joaquin Phoenix were the latest actors to be arrested.
Sheen, who gave a speech at the protest, spoke about women leading the protest, and praised women at large, before stating: “Clearly, the world will be saved by women. Thank god they outnumber us men.” He then went on to talk about an Irish parable, before going on to recite the poem.
The poem:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Watch:
Martin Sheen: "Clearly, the world will be saved by women. Thank God they outnumber us men." #FireDrillFridays pic.twitter.com/ZDDao77yOx
— The Hill (@thehill) January 11, 2020
According to the US Capitol Police, 147 protesters were arrested from the site, and were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding.
Joaquin Phoenix also gave a speech at the protest, speaking about the effects of the meat and dairy industries on climate change.
Since October, Fonda and other actors, including Sam Waterston, Ted Danson, Rosanna Arquette, Sally Field and Catherine Keener, have been arrested for civil disobedience, as they advocated for a Green New Deal, among other demands.
Each week, Fonda uses her Fire Drill Friday protests to advocate for a different cause. She has previously focused on the impact that climate change has on water and women, and has held weekly "teach-ins" with experts to discuss the global issues.
This week, Fonda said the focus was on large financial institutions that allow for the fossil fuel industry, in particular, to thrive.
With IANS inputs