Being a single woman and a part of generation Y the statistical probability of my political leanings being slightly skewed to the left are significantly higher than the chances of getting struck by lightning. But today wasn’t about politics. It was a day where we could make fun of ourselves as a country as well as appreciate it. Where we can turn to our political opponents and have reasonable conversations. A day when all of us in the middle could drown out the shouting of the extremes with the jolly cheer of the majority. I will not be the first or last blogger to talk about the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, but dammit all I will commemorate it just the same.
Fortunately, being unemployed means that I have plenty of time to drive/fly out to Washington D.C. and get my kicks in. Unfortunately, being unemployed means I have no disposable income with which to drive/fly out to Washington D.C. to get my kicks in. So of course I sat down in my favorite swivel chair with a bowl of dry cereal and watched it being streamed live on my favorite internet. I’m so very glad I did.
Turnout looked amazing. The entire area was filled, and what several sources cited as 250,000 people showed up for the actual event, and public viewings popped up around the nation with hundreds tuning in from the comfort of their own cities. The acts were entertaining (Colbert’s entrance says it all), the crowd was positive and civil, and the underlying message against mainstream media and the us vs. them mentality continued throughout the 3 grand hours.
This rally was meant primarily for humor, and for humor’s sake it will be remembered. We, the people of today, prefer to make fun of things and laugh, rather than point angry fingers and shout. Laughter is the cure-all for life’s woes and tribulations, and the madness of our world today counts as a tribulatory woe.
I am in no way under the assumption that this will actually change anything. There will be no uprising movement of a “satire” party, Jon Stewart will not run for president, and the moderate middle will not silence the outliers.
We are, however, uplifted. Because of the amount of people that showed up today and didn’t break into fights, because of the messages that were sent and the laughter that followed, we in the middle know that we are not alone. The people of this nation have not completely fallen into the shit hole of the world, and all hope is not lost for the reasonable and civil. If anything is to come from this event today, it is the understanding that what we see ourselves as a nation is only, in the words of Stewart, a “fun house mirror” reflection with “pumpkin shaped asses”. And for this I am glad, because in all honesty fun house mirrors scare the hell out of me.
Dry Amusement 