Restoring Sanity Rally, from top to bottom

Recently Jon Stewart and friends held a rally in DC. The Restoring Sanity rally was called many things by many people. The idea of the rally was one I think most of us could agree on: Shouting, arguing, and drawing Hitler moustaches is ridiculous and counter productive.

I know many of those who agree with me politically have lambasted Jon Stewart and his little get together as a "bury your head in the sand" kind of deal, a rally aimed at showing the Tea Partiers how silly they are. It is very possible, perhaps even likely, that many attendees at the rally thought exactly that.

I do not think that Jon Stewart himself thought these things. In fact, I'm certain he didn't. Please take a few minutes to listen to the final speech he gave at the end.



I mean, that's downright reasonable. I especially like the part where he says that calling a Tea Partier a racist is "insulting to real racists who have worked so hard to hate". For too long people have thrown titles at their enemies like hand grenades, without thought, hoping something sticks and proves them wrong. Hitler, Socialist, Communist, Racist, Fascist, etc., etc., etc. It is a sign of intellectual laziness.

I would counter to Mr. Stewart, however, that we need be equally vigilant to call actual socialists, communists, racists, fascists, exactly what they are, not as an insult, but as an honest definition of positions. If I say that Obama's policies are socialist, it's because I actually think they are socialist and wish to argue against them, not simply because I think that socialist is a cool thing to say.

I've always liked Jon Stewart, and his fellow comedian Colbert, because they are A) Funny as hell, and B) Equal opportunity comics. I disagree with nearly everything they believe politically, but I can respect that they will throw hard questions or lampoon the Left on their silliness just as quickly as they'll spear the Right. The sad thing is that they are at times, as fake journalists, twice the journalists that actual news people will ever be.

Now I'd like to share another video of the Restoring Sanity Rally. This of a presumably conservative man walking around with the sign "Obama: Keynesian?". Hilarity ensues as the dubiously informed masses proceed to argue quite angrily with him.



Remember, this is a small snapshot of the crowd. I don't believe that these folks are representative of the entire audience (though the blank stare I've received on numerous occasions when I relay the funny story to others is making me question this stance), and this video shouldn't be used to invalidate the entire purpose of the rally. It should be used for a laugh.