Some Random Guy Mows The National Mall Despite Shutdown

Some random guy is mowing the lawn of the National Mall despite the government shutdown.

Spotted by Richard Martone and posted to Google+, a photo of a South Carolina man mowing the grass around the Lincoln Monument is going viral today due to the humble, patriotic and completely apolitical message it sends.

“There’s a fellow mowing the grass next to the Lincoln Memorial this morning. He’s carrying a SC state flag. I guess he’s just trying his best to help the country deal with the government shutdown.”

According to CBS, the man is Chris Cox, the founder and sole member of the group Memorial Militia.

With Park Service employees normally charged with the landscaping furloughed, Cox has decided to take it upon himself to keep the lawn nice and trimmed. He’s not motivated by politics, but does feel an obligation to the veterans to clean everything up for the Million Vet March this weekend.

“These are our memorials. Do they think that we’re just going to let them go to hell? No,” Cox said. “If they shut down our memorials, we’re still going to take the trash out, we’re going to clean the windows, we’re going to cut the grass, we’re going to pull the weeds, we’re going to do the tree work.”

He was hoping that his actions would inspire others to join him, though the Park Service has shut him down for liability reasons.

“There’s a lot of preparation to get ready for them and there’s nobody here representing the government,” Cox said, eager to continue his work.