I won't try to explain Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. If you know, you know. Comedians, entertainers, they put on a show--good music, interesting comments, in part serious, in large humorous. Irony is their tool and they are especially appreciated by the young, but also admired by the old. The in between are just as avid fans.
One poster said, "I get my comedy from Fox News and my news from Comedy Central." Another, "Where are the moderate Muslims?"--with an arrow pointing down to the two sign holders that said, "Right Here!" Another said, "The People Behind Me Can't See," and another, "Where's the bathroom?" The signs expressed "...humor, frustration, hopes and dreams." Some were brilliant, some to the point, but all were tame and civil.
The music was varied, with John Legend and The Roots, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy, Ozzy Osbourne, The O'Jays and the controversial Yusuf, formerly known as Cat Stevens. If one googles "The Rally to Restore Sanity" one can read numerous articles about the program, or review hundreds of the signs. One can learn that no litter was left behind, at Jon's bidding. And one can listen to Stewart's final speech of the day.
He begins the speech thanking everyone for coming, even though no one knew exactly why, or what they were coming to. He ends saying the only thing he'd ever wanted for the day, was for people to come. Comedy Central estimated an expected 60,000 attendees on their permit application. Over 250,000 came.
His words mirrored my thoughts--not necessarily knowing why I went, I simply knew I wanted to be there. One can also read criticism of the rally, of Stewart, Colbert, and the crowd. Some are disappointed they did not urge the attendees to vote, others express inaccurate descriptions or less polite negativity.
I suggest listening to Stewart's speech if you haven't already. (A link to the speech is posted on the right.)
No matter which side of the political aisle one is on, no matter what you think of two comedians drawing 250,000 people to Washington last Saturday, you can find a very reasonable inspiration in his words. We all live together each day, working side by side, to do what needs to get done. We simply need our politicians to do the same. We need our media to calm down. That's the sanity we rallied to restore.
The rally came to an end around three p.m. only to have the monumental disbursement of the crowd begin.
Everything was over. Or, was it....
The next morning on my plane, the first question I posed to the passenger on my left was, "Did you go to the rally?" He began to tell his story, about coming from New England, getting caught in the mass of walkers moving forward at the rally, but then deciding to turn around to attempt finding a seat on the grass. He and his friends made their way further back, then found themselves too far back. They actually ended up so far back in the crowd that they could not hear or see anything. But they sat with everyone around them who also could not see or hear, for the full duration. He shared how glad he was to have been there. He said every minute was worth all their effort.
Today I read an account about busloads of people from New York City who were two hours late for the rally and only caught the last hour. They could hear and see very little, and even they, were very satisfied to have taken part in something that made such a worthwhile point.
250,000 people (the population of Madison, Wisconsin, or St. Petersburg, Florida, or Birmingham, Alabama) are now telling their stories from last weekend. At least 250,000 people walked together, laughed together, jumped, clapped, sang and reasoned together.
They now... again... hope together.
A step in the right direction.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Weight training, core work and stretching at home today.
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