Joshua’s court hearing is tonight, I have no idea what will happen. Joshua has been instructed by his attorney not to talk about the trial or the charges, and he has not. I do know and can say that he is strong and calm and looking to the future, he is not afraid or angry. He is a strong man, he understands that great things can come out of everything if your head is on straight, and his head is on straight.
There are points in a man or woman’s life when they are tested, it has happened to me more than once, it will happen to me again. One of the ways I judge my own character is to ask whether I have the strength to stand behind good men and women who I believe are not treated justly.
Joshua is, I believe, such a person. He has many friends and supporters and well-wishers, I imagine many of them will be in court tonight. My friend Paul Moshimer of Blue-Star Equiculture is driving up from Massachusetts to stand with Joshua, he says the hearing could be of “monumental” significance. I agree.
Joshua is a warrior and victim in a conflict that is much wider than him or me or Paul or any of the people who will gather tonight. There is a way of life on the line, a value system, a tradition of freedom and privacy and peace of mind that is also on trial. Unlike so many other victims, Joshua used our new technology to reach out, and his call for support was answered by thousands of people. This is something new and powerful, I am eager to see how it plays out.
Maria has also decided to come with me. I also think it is an important day, and I admire Joshua for the decent and forthright way he has stood up for his life. I believe him to be innocent of any wrongdoing. His crime is to be a young farmer trying to sell healthy food from the bodies of animals that are well cared and fed in a brutal and overpowering winter. I hope this never comes to be a crime in America. I hope he is cleared and released from this nightmare, and that his animals are returned to him.
The hearing will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Glenville, N.Y. Town Court.