9 good things about '10: #8 - The Rally to Restore Sanity
America is a country in trouble. George Bush broke America and the country that promises “one land, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all” in the sales brochure has looked increasingly paranoid, reactionary and sclerotic. 2010 is the year that showed Obama to be a false dawn. I still think he’s a great man, but he lacks the Clinton chutzpah required to face down the opposition.
Two of the loudest voices in America right now are Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. Both support the idiotic Tea Party movement, both have an almost pathological hatred for the telling of truth. It’s easy, sitting over here, to predict the end of America.
So thank heavens for Jon Stewart and The Rally To Restore Sanity. This was Stewart’s half-comic, half-deadly serious response to Beck’s Rally To Restore Honour held previously in 2010 and it gave a voice to the many Americans who aren’t certifiably insane. This was a day of radical moderates, carrying signs like “If you keep shouting like that, you’ll get big muscles all over your face”, “I like tea and you’re kind of ruining it”, “Jesus says Relax” and Stewart’s own suggested slogan, “I understand your stance and while I disagree, I’m pretty sure you’re not a Nazi”.
Beck, Palin and the rest dismissed this event as just a fun day out for stoners, which kind of missed the point: yes, these were people who would rather have a good time than follow a political crusade but most people are like that. Most people don’t want to violently force their political viewpoint on others and would quite like not to have the views of others voiced on them.
My heart was warmed to see Americans standing up to the bullies and ideologues who feel it is their birthright to monopolise American politics. I was also pretty happy to see Americans show to the rest of the world that they’re cool, funny and, y’know, sane. Mostly, I was just happy to see such a huge crowd show up for Jon Stewart. He’s not only one of the world’s most trusted journalists, but he’s also always the first guy to admit that it’s a bit pathetic that a comedian should be so much more trusted than real journalists.
Stewart in 2012? If I had a vote, he’d get it.
Two of the loudest voices in America right now are Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. Both support the idiotic Tea Party movement, both have an almost pathological hatred for the telling of truth. It’s easy, sitting over here, to predict the end of America.
So thank heavens for Jon Stewart and The Rally To Restore Sanity. This was Stewart’s half-comic, half-deadly serious response to Beck’s Rally To Restore Honour held previously in 2010 and it gave a voice to the many Americans who aren’t certifiably insane. This was a day of radical moderates, carrying signs like “If you keep shouting like that, you’ll get big muscles all over your face”, “I like tea and you’re kind of ruining it”, “Jesus says Relax” and Stewart’s own suggested slogan, “I understand your stance and while I disagree, I’m pretty sure you’re not a Nazi”.
Beck, Palin and the rest dismissed this event as just a fun day out for stoners, which kind of missed the point: yes, these were people who would rather have a good time than follow a political crusade but most people are like that. Most people don’t want to violently force their political viewpoint on others and would quite like not to have the views of others voiced on them.
My heart was warmed to see Americans standing up to the bullies and ideologues who feel it is their birthright to monopolise American politics. I was also pretty happy to see Americans show to the rest of the world that they’re cool, funny and, y’know, sane. Mostly, I was just happy to see such a huge crowd show up for Jon Stewart. He’s not only one of the world’s most trusted journalists, but he’s also always the first guy to admit that it’s a bit pathetic that a comedian should be so much more trusted than real journalists.
Stewart in 2012? If I had a vote, he’d get it.