Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

This past Saturday, October 30th, the Mall in Washington D.C. hosted Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Of course I was not able to attend this historic event, but I did manage to catch about 75% of it on TV. While Stewart and Colbert are comedians by trade (each have a show on Comedy Central that pokes fun at the news and current events), and the rally was all in good fun, the overall message was an excellent one. Here is an excerpt from Stewart's speech that I really appreciated:

"... This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are, and we do.

But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus, and not be enemies. But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. The country’s 24-hour politico–pundit' perpetual panic "conflictinator" did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the "dangerous, unexpected flaming-ants epidemic!" If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.

There are terrorists, and racists, and Stalinists, and theocrats, but those are titles that must be earned! You must have the resume! Not being able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Party-ers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez is an insult – not only to those people, but to the racists themselves, who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more.

... [Gestures across the Mall and toward the Capitol.] Americans don’t live here or on cable TV. Where we live, our values and principles form the foundation that sustains us while we get things done – not the barriers that prevent us from getting things done. Most Americans don’t live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, liberals or conservatives. Americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. Often something they do not want to do. But they do it. Impossible things, every day, that are only made possible through the little, reasonable compromises we all make.

... We know, instinctively, as a people, that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is, there will always be darkness. And sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the Promised Land. Sometimes, it’s just New Jersey."

(If anyone is interested, you can watch the speech on Youtube.) I sincerely hope that their rally made people who attended and watched it reflect on our country and where we, as Americans stand.

Here is a link to a fun song Jon & Stephen sang together entitled "I'm More American Than You". I found it rather catchy and entertaining!

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=363859&title=jon-and-stephen-im-more