The Rally: If We Amplify Everything, We Hear Nothing

On October 30th, 2010 over 200,000 people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC to stand for one thing: the restoration of sanity. One may ask why it is that we, as a nation, feel so compelled to retaliate against whatever it is we’re fighting? People have always told me that there is power in numbers. We are taking a stand because for the first time in years people are beginning to realize that they have a voice and they can believe in themselves. Through satirical comedy, Jon Stewart encouraged people to laugh at themselves and remember that we are all only human. It was almost as if he was saying “Hey everyone! You are taking things WAY too literally. Seriously! Good morning America!” It’s about time we woke up and smelled the coffee… Don’t get me wrong, I really love this place. I just think that we all have a lot to learn. The thing that I find interesting is the fact that they announced the rally and the very next day there were over 69,000 people attending the event on facebook. Throughout the afternoon people were posting to twitter observations and activities that were going on in the mall, and CNN had a live stream making the rally accessible to thousands of viewers. Twenty, even ten years ago I think I can safely say that this rally would have never succeeded. Even if someone had this great idea of rebirthing patriotism in our country, they lacked the resources necessary to do so. Today, we sit a single click away from access to the entire world. Through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and live news streams people can access the news instantly. But what does this mean for our sanity? It means that no matter how engaged we are, sometimes we must step back and remember what it means to unite. At the rally, Sheryl Crow sang, “There is screaming on my left and yelling on my right and I’m just sitting here trying to live my life.” Often times we get so caught up in the political turmoil and competition of our society that true values are lost. Opinions and personal values are important to share and discuss, but if we want to have any chance at creating a better tomorrow we must come to terms on one thing: we have to realize that we are all in this together. Jon Stewart expressed this vision in different segments of his closing statement:

“And now I thought we might have a moment, however brief, for some sincerity, if that’s OK.

… This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are, and we do. But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus, and not be enemies. But unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. The country’s 24-hour politico–pundit’ perpetual panic “conflictinator” did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the “dangerous, unexpected flaming-ants epidemic!” If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.

There are terrorists, and racists, and Stalinists, and theocrats, but those are titles that must be earned! You must have the résumé! Not being able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Party-ers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez is an insult – not only to those people, but to the racists themselves, who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more.

… Americans don’t live here or on cable TV. Where we live, our values and principles form the foundation that sustains us while we get things done – not the barriers that prevent us from getting things done. Most Americans don’t live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, liberals or conservatives. Americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. Often something they do not want to do. But they do it. Impossible things, every day, that are only made possible through the little, reasonable compromises we all make.

… We know, instinctively, as a people, that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is, there will always be darkness. And sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the Promised Land. Sometimes, it’s just New Jersey.” — Jon Stewart

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6 Comments
  1. Tom Neale; W&M MBA '78
  2. Ed McManus
  3. Drew Stelljes
  4. Ed McManus
  5. Erin Berard
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