200,000 people.
That’s one of the higher 
end estimates, according to Boston.com, for turnout at last weekend’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” hosted by Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, the hosts of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report respectively.One rally attendee, Natasha McKenzie of Boston, MA, had this to say to the Boston Globe:
I think that things in this political climate have gotten very extreme. I feel it’s important for people to come together and stand up against that kind of sentiment…It’s an amazing blend of both [entertainment and politics]. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert leveraged their popularity to bring people out in a political way, and that’s brilliant.
200,000 people.
Do you know what it means when 200,000 people care enough about an issue to get out of their homes at the same time from around the world and all go support something? Not to mention 200,000 Americans, who, in general, are so used to having access to so many things within the comfort of their own homes that it seems unnecessary to go out.
It means that whatever is going on is important.
It means that people are fed up enough with the state of American government that they feel each and every one of their presences at this event will make a difference. And if that many people think this is an important issue, why are the only people who are listening two comedians?
McKenzie seems to think that it’s a good thing that Stewart and Colbert managed to pull this together, but she and many others are missing what’s written in between the lines here. Stewart and Colbert were the ones who did this, because no political figure could, or cared enough to. Nobody in politics is in touch enough with the American people to realize that the insanity and confusion needs to end. That it’s driving people crazy.
What does it say about America when the only people who can get people to turn out for an event, or who care enough to try, are two stand up comedians, who are going to see their ratings skyrocket for this stunt? It says the American people afford more respect to their entertainers than to their politicians, and it says that our politicians are not aware of what America is feeling.
Imagine what might have happened if, rather than Colbert or Stewart, two politicians had gotten behind this rally. Imagine if Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid had realized how America felt, and reached across party lines to rally behind sanity and what is best for the American people.
Stewart’s and Colbert’s rally has already begun to affect some small amount of change among journalists. According to Politico.com, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC has removed the “Worst Person in the World” segment of his show, after it was criticized at the Rally. Imagine what kinds of changes might be affected if two politicians rallied together and started naming names, and criticizing bad policies.
Cheer for the Rally to Restore Sanity if you want, but don’t forget to weep for what it truly represents at the same time.
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