America the Beautiful is already an emotionally-charged song. It became even moreso this past weekend at Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington, D.C. when Tony Bennett sang it. It seemed as if the entire audience was singing along, teary-eyed at the thought of being one of thousands of voices. And then a large plastic beach ball came out of nowhere, smacking a group of people on the back of their heads, which caused an eruption of laughter.
This is an analogy for the rally content itself: moments of reflection and sincerity followed by the proverbial ball spike. Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s comedic skits were intertwined with said emotionally-charged musical performances by legends like Tony Bennett, Cat Stevens, John Legend, The Roots, Ozzy Osbourne, Sheryl Crow…Kid Rock? (Yep, there’s one of Stewart’s zingers.) In Stewart’s final and incredibly serious address to the mass of supporters on the Washington Mall, he told of his rally intentions. Stewart cast a harsh (but deserved) light on the media, stating that they amplify everything, which leaves it impossible to really “hear” anything. “We [the American people] work together to get things done every damn day! The only place we don’t is here,” he gestured toward the Capitol, “or on cable TV.”
By dishing up comedy with a side of popular musicians coupled with a strong message, The Daily Show host put on a perfect rally. What made it even more perfect? The audience signage, ranging from serious (“Your Absolutes are Obsolete”) to comic (“God Hates Hommos! She prefers Baba Ghanoush!”) political statements. A favorite sign target was the Tea Party (“I Like My Tea with Civilized Discourse Or A Vodka Martini,” “Bag the Tea, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,” “Tea Parties are for Mad Hatters”). People went above and beyond for the rally, especially literally above; every tree was filled with adventurous rally-goers, who climbed up for a better view of the stage.
Despite the antics, the rally was an incredibly peaceful experience. No one was pushing or shoving and both entering and exiting the rally proved easier than expected (considering there were approximately 200,000 people in attendance). It was the sanest large-scale event; Stewart’s rally certainly met its goal in more ways than the creators probably imagined.
Sanity
