Rally4Sanity - Part 2 (Reasonably Satisfied... & Disappointed)

If you look over at my "shared items" list you'll see the same article listed twice. One of those contains my comments on an article, actually. I decided I'm going to post it here, so as not to lose it entirely... I said I was going to explain what I said on Twitter-- for all the hype- meh. i'm reasonably satisfied (and/or disappointed...)- so here it is (Warning- semi-irritated, yet hopefully rational rant to follow):

Finally, someone said what I was thinking while I was standing there, waiting for it to end... Not exactly my first ever rally, but a) I really didn't like that Kid Rock song (um, dude, you can & should do SOMETHING more than just care! Seriously, even a tiny donation goes a long way. Caring is NOT enough. Simply caring gets us nowhere unless someone is willing to take action or say something. "Oh yea, I totally care about ________, but I don't do anything to change it or help." Uh, yea, thanks for being useless. That's all that song says to me - I care, but not enough to even make the tiniest attempt to try to change what I don't like. It doesn't even take a huge action, something small counts too. Change happens, but only when we care enough to do something to make it happen. Just pointing it out doesn't make things different. We can't all be passive, and we certainly can't be passive forever. That's the "definition" of insanity- doing the same shit over and over again and expecting different results every time. Things don't change unless we actively change them.

and b) Part of my frustration with it all - I mentioned I didn't feel like there was much engagement. When I left, I didn't feel encouraged. I wanted to feel like we were actually going to DO something to end the craziness. Not just point and laugh at how insane we are, but actually discuss what we can do to get things back to civility. There wasn't as much of that as I had hoped. (Way too much music. I didn't spend 10 hours on a bus, 2 hours driving to Queens, & an additional 3 hours lost in Northern NJ for a concert of musicians I don't particularly enjoy.) Ignoring problems doesn't make them go away. I get that they are comedians and not politicians. I've always known that. But seriously, sometimes I wonder if Stewart really understands just how much influence he has (really, around 250,000 people showed up to see this) or how much potential he has as an agent for real, legitimate change and progress in this country. It's because of him, and Colbert, that I even ever took an interest in politics. It's because of him that ever even though to challenge my own (Church-&-parent-instilled) beliefs. If he ran for President, he would absolutely have my vote, even against Nader or Gore or Grayson or Franken-Weiner. (Ok, maybe I'd have to think about that...) I am all for promoting civility, and peace, and disagreeing without being a total ass about it; but at the same time, I think it's also important that we encourage people to get involved in changing the things that we can influence. We can work together to promote civility, we can work together to achieve change, and we can find common ground - if we're willing to get engaged in the process, and change the process when the situation requires. This rally felt like it was all about "caring," when I (and many others) strongly desire and need "action."

So like I said, reasonably satisfied, yet still somewhat disappointed. Enjoyed the comedic parts, but for all the hype, I expected to get more out of it than I did. Guess I feel that way about a lot of things, huh. But one of them still has 2 years, and I know that it will eventually get done, whether it's because of him or not. I can be patient now, and still fight for what I believe in. If we can compromise to get progress, that's great too. As long as it works. It will happen, we just all have to pitch in. Caring isn't enough if it doesn't lead to action. I can't stress that enough... That really, really bothered me. "I can't feed the poor." Uh, yes you can!!! Grab a few sandwiches and head outside. Donate a few cans to a food bank. Bring lunch for a friend who lost their wallet. Little actions add up! If we all wander around acting like we're helpless and can't solve anything so we shouldn't bother to do anything except care about it, then yea, we can't solve shit. Useless. Grr.YES WE CAN.  

Take the T off of CAN'T, and you CAN. 

I used to hate it when Mr. Foster said that to me, because sometimes, yea, we can't, no matter how hard we try. Often it's just because we have yet to find a way around the barrier. But you know what, fuck that, I'm still going to try my best. Fake it til you make it. So thank you, Mr. Foster, & President Obama. I do have hope that things can and will change. It's kept me alive when I wanted to die. It keeps me going, even when things get hard and I feel like everything is going wrong. Things will change. Even if you can't do it, that doesn't mean we won't stop (politely) trying.

Sunday Updates - Post Rally4Sanity

Alright, you know I've been talking about it, everyone else is talking about it, blah blah it's the latest thing-- the Rally for Sanity and/or Fear. While I was there, I did have some mixed feelings regarding the actual content and execution-- the energy level I expected simply wasn't there. It was slow, and quiet, and rather low-key for a rally. I mean, really, John Legend? To me, rallies should be "peppy" and lively, regardless of cause. The point is to engage people, not put them to sleep! And for such a large crowd, to spend so much time playing music (the Roots were on for almost 40 minutes) just left us all standing there, watching more so than participating. For all the hype, I honestly thought it would've been... I don't know, more, on some level. It just took a while to get to the heart of it all, the Stewart/Colbert spark and snark we all love. When they finally did, it was great.  Ultimately, I do think it was a huge success, with numbers far outshining those of some of this year's previous rallies at the National Mall-- it's estimated that the Rally For Sanity and/or Fear drew a crowd of about 250,000 people. (You know, just in case you care about that sort of thing - the whole "we beat Beck!" thing, I mean. Mainstream/Sanity "won" over Extreme/Fringe Crazy. Meh.)


Oops. lol. So I guess I may've cheered for the wrong thing this one time.. I think I misheard something or other... Oh well. If you haven't heard by now, it was seriously difficult to hear or any of what was going on. By the time the 10,000 HuffPost bus riders arrived, most of the available space was all the way back by the Washington Memorial, and there were only a few JumboTron screens set up in the middle, by the Smithsonian and the Air & Space Museum (where I was). For at least an hour and a half of the rally, the speakers were too low/quiet for any of us in the middle and back to really hear anything. And even then, the sound would falter in and out, before the chants of "Louder! Louder!" started, before it was later replaced with "Louder, please! Louder, please!" :-D (See, we were polite and cordial with each other, and it was wonderful!) News reports of the rally referred to is as "underpowered." Say it like it is, guys -- the speaker system was crap. They should have known what to expect-- and that goes for the city transit as well. Someone decided to shut down several of the closest entrances to the Metro right when the rally ended. Yay, geniuses!

The Rally/March's schedule was kept a secret up until... well, til it happened. Which made for some pretty cool surprises - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ozzy Osbourne and Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam (same guy, name change for some reason...), & the Mythbusters (which, no offense guys, was kind of lame actually. We love to see them blow things up and do geeky science things, but when we can't hear what the hell you're trying to do/measure and all we see are a bunch of cues on the screens, well... Point not made. Just felt silly and irrelevant. Rather insane, actually.)

I definitely feel like, despite the "distraction" of the entertainment - all of the random musical performances and typical Stewart/Colbert comedy-- the point of the day was pushed hard, especially during Stewart's final speech. It's not about picking sides, or sensationalizing the crazy. We work together every day for the little things, we can work together to get the big things done too. There are the extremes and radicals-- but there are more of us in between than both ends put together. So when we ignore the crazies, and partisanship, and psycho-fringe babble about the world coming to an end, we remember that life isn't all that crazy. (I take that back. Stewart, speak for yourself! XD) We're not as different as we (or, as Stewart stressed, the media) try to make ourselves out to be. (I feel like I said that before... Ah, I remember. In an earlier post on politics & conservative/liberal values, I said that ultimately we all want the same things, and we do value the same things. We just have apparently different views on how to our goals.) And Stewart and Colbert did this cute little song about how no one is more American than anyone else here, and everyone can be patriotic in their own way. You already know how I feel about that (agree wholeheartedly, if not fervently.) All in all, it was a fun (and exhausting) day.

Some of our favorite signs/slogans:

• Down With This Sort of Thing...
• Anyone for Scrabble Later?
• Equal Opportunity Lover - I Hate-Fucked a Republican!
• I Masturbate AND Vote! (though usually not at the same time)

While the insanity of America may finally slow down (especially once the mid-terms are over), the insanity of my life is about to pick up. Midnight begins NaNoWriMo!!! Though I'm not sure I'm ready to start yet... I don't plan on writing the entire 50,000 words, but I would like to get at least halfway through... Anyway, I won't be around for a while, so remember this- stay sane, America! Don't get sucked into this crappy political hell of name-calling and violence. Listen, learn, & love. And don't forget to vote on Tuesday! (I can't wait until all of these stupid campaign signs go away. They're plastic/not biodegradable/non-recyclable, look horrible plastered all over the damn highways, and honestly, I stopped caring a while ago.)


Another thing - I'm officially dropping the Discovery network boycott. I can't bring myself to start watching again, because I made a promise/commitment and I like to keep those. But I don't see a point anymore. I've never been a fan of "reality" shows other than the dance competitions, because I find the shows in general to be extremely exploitative. This show is no different, other than the fact that it also features a person whose personality and political history I dislike; and that political history directly conflicts with the overall purpose and message of the network. She does not practice what she preaches (to some point, thankfully), but what she preaches is exactly what the network has been fighting against, especially regarding animal rights and the environment. (If you weren't aware, TreeHugger & Planet Green are part of the Discovery Network, along with Animal Planet.) The only way the network is dropping the show is if their ratings are terrible and no one's making money. So from here on out, the focus is getting the advertisers to drop out, and convincing people to simply avoid the show altogether. I think once people actually see what it's about, odds are few people will watch it, or like it, and it will all fizzle out on its own. Wishful thinking, but what else can we do? An ineffective boycott is an unproductive means of achieving one's goal, so it's time to regroup and restrategize.