Rally to Restore Sanity 10.30.10

As some of you know, I went to Washington DC last weekend to attend Jon Stewart’s rally on the National Mall. The experience was one to remember and it was a lot of fun. The show itself? Eh, … it was probably better on TV.

I typically avoid large crowds. And the idea of being on my feet all day with visually obstructed views of a stage over a quarter mile away doesn’t sound like a recipe for a good time. But that’s not why I went. For me, attending this event was more about the experience of being there than having the best seat in the house. I wanted to be there in person to feel the energy of the crowd and to be a part of a message – even though it was never really made clear what the message was supposed to be.

The energy on the Mall was eerily calm. It was like something you would have hoped for but never expected from a crowd that exceeded 200,000. Everyone was nice to each other. No pushing or shoving. No yelling or cursing. I’ve never seen so many calm and happy people gathered in once place. It was as if everyone subscribed to the message from “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” which was to “be excellent to each other.” (I saw at least two signs with that message but didn’t get a picture.)

For the few weeks before the rally, the main message from The Daily Show for attendees was “don’t be a douche.” Who knew so many people would comply? It was great to be there to experience it. As for the message…

Aside from the name of the rally, Jon Stewart (and Stephen Colbert) offered few details about any message they wanted to convey or what the show was to include. First and foremost, these guys are comedians and entertainers. However, Jon does have a reputation as a political satirist and I don’t think there is any question as to which way he leans politically. So, by having a rally on the National Mall near the heart of American politics, he must have had a message to convey. Anybody happen to catch what the message was?

The show itself focused more on musical guests than political commentary. In fact, there was practically no political commentary at all. There was no message for or against Republicans or Democrats. There was no call to action for or against any cause or hot political issue. To hear them explain it, their only goal was to entertain by putting on a good show. Jon did take a few minutes for some heartfelt thoughts near the end, but they were more observations than political statements. If there was an actual message I would say that it was a desire for the media and our politicians to be more constructive and less focused on sound bites and name calling. A desire for a little more… sanity.

As Jon himself pointed out, people came from across the county “even if none of us are really quite sure why.” For some attendees, the goal was simply to help create a bigger crowd than some guy named Glen Beck was able to draw last August. And those people should be proud of themselves, because by all accounts this event drew more than double what Beck got. (Estimates of 215,000 for Stewart/Colbert vs. 87,000 for Beck.) But this rally wasn’t just about trying to one-up a misguided cable pundit.

I’ve heard silly statistics that suggest that 10% of Americans get their news from Jon Stewart. Silly because Stewart is a comedian, not a journalist, and because it would be difficult to understand many of the jokes unless you were somewhat informed through more traditional sources. However, his show can be insightful in the sense that his satire can often bring home a point that many journalist miss or choose not to share. Whether it is about a community center in New York, patriotic homosexuals, or any other hot political topic, he very often finds a way to add value to existing news and a viewpoint that is often shared by many.

Mr. Stewart may not have had a specific purpose for the rally other than to provide entertainment, but the message from the attendees is that we applaud his efforts and the work that he does. Not just one day on the National Mall, but on his show every week.

A commentator on one of last Sunday’s news shows suggested that the size of the crowd was more a testament to Jon Stewart’s star power than any message, but that just tells me that he didn’t get the message. For me that message was this:

We are here, hundreds of thousands of us. We are not loud and we don’t even agree on everything, but we represent millions of Americans who would like to see a bit more common sense and a bit more sanity from our media and our politicians. Stewart and Colbert are entertainers, but mixed in with the comedy is a lot of truth. Pay attention sometime and you might learn something.

Even if that message has mostly fallen on deaf ears, it was good to get it out there and I was proud to be a part of it.

Check out some pictures I took at the rally by clicking this link: http://chrisozcpa.shutterfly.com/

Thank you to my friend Matthew for providing a weekend of ground transportation, rally companionship, and some nice Chianti. And special thanks to him and his wife for their hospitality, which included some awesome croissants on Saturday morning.