Sanity

Today Dana and I ventured down to Washington to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear being held in the National Mall by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. There were claims before it happened that it was a completely apolitical rally; rather than to prop up a candidate or party, it was a plea for sanity in the current political atmosphere. I really didn't believe it to start; Stewart is well-known for his attacks on hypocrisy and double-talk of both the parties, but he's clearly liberal-minded.

After the final speech of the day, I think Stewart proved his point. Watch below.

The most important take-away from this speech is that this message is for everyone. As separate as the two sides of the political debate are right now, people are exaggerating a little too much, people are taking rhetoric a little too far. It's important for everyone to take a step back and realize that liberals aren't, in general, trying to destroy America and Tea Party members aren't, in general, horrible racists who hate poor people. Everyone has their unique beliefs, as Stewart echoes in his car analogy.

The point is that debate is healthy. Debate is what takes problems and figures them out, looks at them from every possible angle, and then looks for a solution. Debate is what the conservative does with his liberal friends, where shouting isn't allowed or is even necessary. People disagree and they always will; people who identify on the same side of the political fence will disagree with you. There are millions of issues that make up someone's political opinion, and it's seriously unlikely that someone will agree with each and every one. And Stewart's message? That's okay.

Conservatives and Tea Partiers need to take a step back and realize that President Obama and the collection that we call the Democratic Party isn't out to destroy the country. They are genuinely convinced that they are doing what's right. Liberals and Democrats need to take a step back and realize that the movements on the right are not motivated by racism or sexism or fear of Muslims - they are rooted in the sentiment that money is being wasted and that that needs to stop.

It's easy to believe you're right, and it's necessary for you to have a real punch in your argument. But being so convinced that you're right that you can so utterly dehumanize people who disagree with you is a dangerous trend. After all, nobody knows how this whole thing is to shake out. President Obama might be wrong. John Boehner might be wrong. I might be wrong.

You might be wrong.