Keeping my "Sanity"

Along with all the mid-term election stuff going on, a lot of buzz was brewing over Jon Stewart's "Restoring Sanity" rally.  I wasn't wildly enthused about attending the rally, for I felt it was gonna be a jab at Glen Beck's rally along with my opinion with Jon Stewart listeners, but I decided to go.  Hell, I had nothing better to do, and thought it'd be good for me to see what it's all about for myself and form my own opinion instead of listening to talking heads bloviate over it.

Unfortunately, the spot I ended up at was right next to the first aid tent, where every couple of minutes I had to clear a path for hurt/sick people, which most were probably faking getting hurt just so they could get a better spot closer to the front.  I mean, how do people sprain their ankle, pass out, getting bloody lips, etc. at a rally?  It's just a bunch of people standing around listening to a bunch of jokes.  I'm literally trying to find an example of a ridiculous scenario where somebody could get hurt, but I honestly can't find one.  Sorry, I had to throw that in.

For the actual Rally, besides the dull start and poor sound setup on the mall, (It was hard to hear at times), it turned out to be mostly a comedy show poking fun of both sides along with a 20 minute serious speech from Stewart at the end with the basic message of "Let's all just be friends and talk our differences out."  So it was an enjoyable event, and not considered a waste of time.  I thought some of the jokes were good, and I was thrilled to see my old hero Mick Foley, better known as Mankind, aka Cactus Jack, aka Dude Love.  I do have to say though, and for the most part, I agreed with what was said.

One disagreement I have with this philosophy however, is dealing with unreasonable circumstances.  If something ridiculous is happening, let's say some punk degrades your mother, you shouldn't go "Hey, lets talk this out."  No, sometimes, people need their asses kicked, or to at least speak out in a enthusiastic matter.  Take the Tea Party for example.  Much of their grief deals with our out of control spending, a major grab of power in the government, and corruption of our politicians, so they voice their opinion's loudly, for many of these politicians in Washington are not acting reasonable.  Yet they're branded as crazy, racists, stupid, etc., even though many of the people I've heard bitch about how corrupt Washington is are the same people criticizing the Tea Party, who is taking a stand against the corruption.  So my point is, there is times where it is ok to be "Unreasonable," where you would otherwise be "Ignoring Insanity."

Also, I felt although it was branded as a non-political rally, and the presentation was not biased, it was used by liberal groups as a Democratic rally and as a "Take that Glen Beck," although Beck's rally had more projected attendee's, but that's neither here nor there.  There were left leaning groups walking around with sign-up sheets, handing out goodies, etc., along with Democrat recruiting, which I feel Jon Stewart had to be aware of, being he is a smart guy.  Was it set up that way, I could never prove, but I have a feeling they didn't mind a little of that stuff going on.

Most of the people there were college kids, many of whom showed up to act silly, holding up goofy signs aimed to show off their satirical wit, the "Oh man, look at me, I'm super smart cause I made ironic sign," people.  You see em' every once in a while at those types of things.  And of course you had the crowd who thought they were part of most important event in the history of the Earth, the "Oh man, Jon Stewart's really making a difference in the world, I work for a non-profit health firm, I care about animals and the world, you should hook up with me cause I'm big ol' activist douche bag..."  You know the people I'm talking about.  Sorry, those people just annoy the hell out of me, only taking part in latest hip movement to get attention and to make themselves look awesome.  I can go on about foolish college kids who act like they're the hottest thing since sliced bread cause they took psychology 201 (and yes, I'm probably gonna have most of my friends pissed at me cause I said that, but I'm sorry I have to say something), but maybe I'll save that for another blog.

I could take comfort however in the fact that there were a decent group of people, many who were around me who seemed like they showed up to have a good time, keep it mellow, and see a funny show.  To those chill people sitting next to me, I commend you!

I guess in the end, I'm glad I went, and although the crowd was obviously more directed towards the left, it was a fun little event.  However, I just didn't feel that inspired at the end of the rally, like I was a part of something special that made me want to go out and be a better person afterwords.  Although I could say even with my tyraid in the earlier paragraphs, it is a nice reminder to try to be civil with people when having political discussions, a message that many people need to get across, and it does makes people understand your point of view a little better.  After digesting his Stewart's words though, I kinda thought to myself, "well, duh, I already knew that, it shouldn't be something we have to say."

So the rally to restore sanity and/or fear was a fun event with comedy and a decent message, but I don't see it as something that will be remembered in the history books, as I'm sure many people were hoping it would.