Rally to restore Sanity
In a couple of days Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity (in politics and public discourse) will hit the streets of Washington DC in anticipation of next week's election:This isn't a concealed campaign rally for either party. It's a counterprotest against the rising tide of conformity that causes hyperpartisans to demonize people with whom they disagree. It's the anti-demagogue Saturday on the mall; people taking to the streets and yelling, "Be reasonable!"
...For those who like their mock politics laced with paranoia, the indispensable Stephen Colbert is offering an alternative to the earnestness with his "Keep Fear Alive" rally. Those three words sum up an entire established media and political strategy...
Stewart's rally recognizes that there is an opportunity here -- a massive unmet market between the 15 percent of Americans who call themselves conservative Republicans and the 11 percent of Americans who describe themselves as liberal Democrats.
...the two parties have increasingly become obstacles to the open functioning of democracy. That's why 40 percent of Americans have declared their independence from the two parties, creating the largest and fastest-growing segment of the electorate, independent voters...
Check out the full story here.
Labels: Cultural issues, Political Philosophy
posted by Rev. Daniel McLain Hixon at 10/27/2010
2 Comments:
How ironic that the two biggest purveyors of cynicism and sarcasm feel like they can contribute anything whatsoever.
I suppose they are probably aware of the irony. Perhaps even more ironic, (or sad) is that the age group I work with (college students) tend not to watch local or cable news shows at all, but they all watch Stewart and Colhbert.
I think their approach is one of criticism and, as such, it is only able to comment (indirectly as it is through comedy) on what others are doing.
At best I suppose they make us aware of truths about ourselves and our societies that we may or may not have seen before.
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