By: Aramie M. Bloom
About one hour ago, without ropes and seeming to possess Alex Honnold-levels of Lexapro-brain, two artists somehow ascended to the top of the Empire State Building.
And then they got engaged.
But not before unfurling a flag with a message that reads as the biggest and most necessary declaration of love our nascent nation has seen in a good long while: When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace. This is not a new quote (nor can it be verifiably tied to Jimi Hendrix – I checked). But it’s a good one for these times.
The (Supposed) Culprits
How did they do it? We don’t know. Early news was calling them “protestors.” Right wing news keeps calling them “criminals.” (Why don’t they apply such logic to their criminal in the White House?) Whatever they are -why did they do it? We can speculate on a variety of reasons. At first, I’d assumed they were folks pushed to the level of IDGAF from which comes unrelenting, merciless, and beautiful forms of expression – because that’s the plane where yours truly has lately been thrust in year two of this administration. Who are they? Now that, we know.
The pair identified themselves as Angela Nikolau and Ivan “Vanya” Beerkus. Actually, this being the modern age, they updated their social media instantly with an engagement ring, hand-holding, and spectacular views of the city that’s long held the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses.
Nikolau, a Russian rooftopper and artist whose social media features scores of daring climbs, is featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary ‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’ along with Beerkus. This action, however, is said to not have been part of anything related to Netflix. They scale tall buildings as a rule, it seems; other summits have included the Eiffel Tower, Mercury City Tower in Moscow, and towering financial structures throughout China. They’ve also climbed the 2nd tallest building in the world, Merdeka 118, in Malaysia. If love is about resilient commitment and perseverance, these two are a match made in heaven.
This isn’t the usual sort of story we see at the beginning of July: commercials for hot summer fun featuring pools and sunburns; ads mixing hot dogs, fireworks, and Major Sales; or nationalistic epistles soaked in patriot-beer spills declaring the love of liberty and air conditioning. But it’s a much better story for the 250th birthday of this project known as the United States than Trump’s failure of a D.C. fair – where the ice cream melted within an hour, attendance hovers between five and seven patrons, and the Ferris wheel keeps on breaking down.
Not that Nikolau and Beerkus chose this date for the purpose of celebrating anything in particular. I don’t know why July 1 was their moment of go. Watching the pair join hands as Beerkus dropped to one knee, I wondered why the scene felt so right – and why this year feels so very different on this July 4th.
Last year, many of us held out hope for salvation from this relentless regime. It couldn’t go on much longer, we thought, collectively. It’s terrible. But someone will save us. We don’t know who. But someone.
And that someone never came.
And that’s why watching two 30-somethings climb a searing, metal tower on one of the hottest days of the year, and get engaged to be married more than 1,400 feet above midtown Manhattan makes sense: it’s a spectacle. But it’s the kind we want. The kind that communicates skill, power, and freedom instead of fascism. The kind that says a person still can achieve the extraordinary. Granted, Nikolau and Beerkus both have major brands deals in addition to their artistic success and can probably afford their bail (both were arrested immediately upon descent). But I would never begrudge another artist their success. I think we as a people needed to see something amazing, with an accessible message, especially in these times. We needed to live vicariously through a couple people who weren’t hurting anybody, doing something we can celebrate. A love spectacle. There’s nothing wrong with that.
The True Oath Keepers
Another notable occurence today; one might argue, an even sharper spectacle of love for one’s fellow humans. U.S. Air Force Major Jason Watson risked his entire military career (17 years) demanding the impeachment of President Donald Trump. He was arrested on the Capitol steps. He, like Nikolau and Beerkus, knew what was going to happen. Watson had his hands behind his back before police even asked him to do it. Civil disobedience. The man swore, he took an oath to defend … “I, Jason Paul Watson, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” An active duty commissioned officer in uniform just called for the impeachment of the President of the United States. We couldn’t ask for a better July 4th gift for this country – and the world – except for actual removal. Watson took an oath and has vigilantly kept it. History and karma reward such action. May the blessing of Var reach you, Major Watson, tonight.
Free Soloing Through Life
At my gym one evening after classes, I was asking one of the trainers if he had seen the recent documentary on Alex Honnold. We talked about how Honnold has a massively underactive part of the brain that registers fear. And how it saves his ass; he doesn’t panic in moments that would turn my own blood cold.
He can free solo up massive rock faces the way I wish I could through life.
But, alas, I wind up in regular worry and fear about eating, about graduating school, about having someplace to sleep (not necessarily in that exact order). I worry about dying without ever having reached more than a few people through my writing. I worry about being obsolete before quickly remembering we are all just a flash in the pan.
I’ve been thinking all day, since two people got engaged half a mile off the ground, what my “go for it” project would be. What if I knew I couldn’t fail? And – it’s writing. It’s always writing. Why am I even in business school? Maybe to distract myself from writing. I don’t know. I’ll invite you to be honest about what you want to do regardless of what anyone says, thinks, or feels about it. Go on. Please. Because the world needs you to believe in and do your crazy action; the thing you want to do and would do without reservation.
No regime can take that kind of passion away from you. And right now – at year 250 of the U.S., at the year of the trillionaire – our own deepest passions are all we got. Our truths. Our heart. It’s what’s saving us before the world crumbles. It’s the thing we have been waiting for. And every one of us has it. The potential for real independence. A true 4th of July.
Who knew.