Who knew so many people could fit in the Metro? We started the journey after the rally started, yet the Metro was still packed with many enthusiastic and sane people. We even had to wait for a train several times in order to find one that had space. Speaking about packed, the rally itself was really packed. We walked toward the Capitol until we hit the wall of humans. We found pockets of space and moved ahead whenever we could. While we were close enough to hear and see the screen, it was funny that my mom who was watching the rally on T.V. had a better idea of what’s going on. Still, it was interesting to be a part of a massive blob of people.
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear tied perfectly into the class discussion of national security. If we label all Muslims as terrorists, that just increases the number of people who hate the U.S. Basically, if we expand the circle of hate, only more hate will come back to bite us. Hate stems from fear; fear often stems from lack of rationality. Stewart represented sanity and Colbert symbolized fear. I think they did a great job of proving that the world doesn’t have to be such a scary place if we think things out more. When we put things in perspective, we have a lot more friends than enemies.
Stewart’s speech at the end of the rally had some really valid points. I especially liked the part about not being able to tell who the real racists and bigots are. We all like it or not have bias against people who aren’t like us. A rational person would recognize this and try not to act on the bias. The people who act based on irrational fears are the real racists and bigots. If we call people racists and bigots the instant they say something questionable, we take attention away from the racists and bigots who earned their titles.
Lets hope sanity spreads across the U.S. and the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment