The Rally to Restore Sanity was a much needed break from the negative, ad hominem and vitriolic discourse that has come to characterize US elections and politics. Held in Washington, DC and sponsored by Comedy central stars Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert, the rally was estimated to have drawn over 215,000. I am, of course chary of placing much credence on crowd estimates, but even with a huge margin of error it is fair to say that the crowd outnumbered the right wing pep fest hosted by Beck and Palin that drew about 85,000. Though the margin is still less than I would like, a representation that there is at least a 2:1 ratio of people who favor sanity and compassion to intolerance, suppression of civil or human rights and divisiveness is somewhat encouraging.
One need not search for the deeply profound in the humor inspired rally, other than the affirmation that there are still a lot of people in the US who have not totally lost their sense of humor. But we may consider some very apt quotes taken from the crowd that seem to express the sentiment that inspired the rally and that may represent a substantial feeling among average US citizens.
"It's the first time a message like this has resonated with me," said Jonathan Dugan, 37, a product engineer who flew from San Francisco to stand on the mall on a sunny fall afternoon. "We need to get people to talk to each other in a meaningful way."
With politicians seeking to attack their opponents on a personal level and claiming to state what “the people” want, without ever taking the time to consult the populace, it is a desire profoundly to be wished.
"I'm really concerned that we're not agreeing on anything," said Jean Mathisen, 63, who runs a seniors fraud-prevention program in Seattle. Reminded that the country was bitterly divided over Vietnam and civil rights during her youth, she said, "I felt that back then, at least a lot of people wanted to work together."
The GOP in the Senate voted unanimously to block virtually every initiative of the Obama Administration, and now chastises the administration for "failing to deliver” the promised change. Such is the hypocrisy that now colors the highest legislative body of the nation. And the Senate majority leader stated openly that he “wished that they could have obstructed more," as if that were possible. So it is no wonder that there are people in the country who are frustrated with the lack of action.
But what remains to be seen is whether they will be rational enough to recognize the reasons and the mechanics of the inertia and vote accordingly. One might speculate that the Democrats could have capitulated further in order to gain GOP support, but we must remember the statement from the GOP leadership that no proposal from the White House would gain GOP support. So such speculation would be futile.
“People,” as suggested by characters as diverse as Thomas Jefferson to P.T. Barnum to Elmer Gantry can be fooled almost all the time. So the media hype, backed by billions of dollars spent by anonymous entities on ad campaign attacks, will undoubtedly influence some beyond those who have stopped thinking and seek only to convince themselves of their preconceived convictions. They are unlikely to be persuaded, and will only get confused if you try to throw facts or intelligent arguments at them.
Yet the best thing that could happen to the country might be the awakening of the sleeping, and sometimes apathetic, middle group of people represented by the attendees of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Not consulted by any of the horse race and dog fight pollsters, this huge group has the power to speak with a loud voice to politicians and perhaps send a message that artful dodging and mindless intransigence are not acceptable. The message might be that the electorate demands better from its government. That would be the makings of a seismic political shift not seen since the War for Independence from Britain.
But maybe it is just wishful thinking…
No comments:
Post a Comment