I had a great time at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. So why do I feel disappointed?

(tl;dr - so much left unsaid, so much time was wasted on unnecessary segments, and a huge opportunity for America's future was missed)

I had a great time at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.  I really enjoyed the music, laughed at the comedy, and enjoyed the satirical commentary on the political news media.  I am glad that I was a part of such a huge event that brought together so many people from across this country, from so many different walks of life united in the common belief that there can be a saner, more intelligent, more rational America. I agreed with the message, believed in the cause, and will never forget the experience.  So why do I feel disappointed?

As much as I enjoyed the rally, I feel like there was so much left that was unsaid.  This rally had the potential to be a pivotal moment in American history.  I was lost in a sea of people stretching further than the eye can see, a wave through the audience traveled the entire length of the Washington Mall!  Hundreds of thousands of Americans came together in support of a saner America.  An America that embraces compromise, civility, and respectful discourse.  Of course, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert delivered that message, as advertised.  Sadly, the message consisted of a few jokes from the hosts, some media satire from the Daily Show correspondents, and about fifteen minutes of serious talk at the end.  Sure, some of the music was politically motivated, and yeah, there was maybe some subtext here and there.  Sadly it was not enough.  In the end, I left feeling let down.  So much anticipation, so much hope.  So many things I wanted to hear said, wanted to know that there were others that believe the things I believe, as passionately as I do. Instead, I was treated to a three hour long media synergy event coordinated by Viacom.

Why so much music?  I love The Roots.  I've seen them live twice, and they put on a hell of a show.  John Legend's pretty good, not my favorite, but I could dig it.  They took up about 45 minutes.  They each should have had one, maybe two, songs.  Fifteen to twenty minutes, tops.  The sound wasn't that great, it was hard to see the screens, and the message was lost.  Kid Rock's song was actually really good, I liked it quite a bit and think it really resonated with the message and theme of the event.  Sheryl Crow was a compete waste of time and had no business there.  The Tweedy/Staples duet was a yawn: I could hardly hear the guitar at all, and the performance was no different to me than what I saw on Colbert's show earlier in the fall.  I absolutely loved seeing Yusuf Islam.  That was an amazing moment, realizing that it was really him coming out on stage.  So why the hell did they pick HIS SONG to be the one to F*%# WITH!?  Send Ozzy's ass back to LA, and as much as I appreciate the Ojays, I would have rather felt Yusuf's message spread through the crowd than see it used as a gimmicky joke about trains.  So many songs that could have been cut and they had to ruin Peace Train.  They were so close to the mark on that one, and then they killed it, something they did a few times throughout the evening.

Another thing that I feel just missed the mark was the Mythbusters' appearance.  Now, I am a dedicated fan of the Mythbusters; I love their brand of humor and their approach to science and knowledge.  I enjoyed the wave experiment as it gave me a true sense of the vastness of the crowd, but they had fifteen minutes and used all of it to screw around!  Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are the most notable pop culture figures in science.  They bring science into homes across the country, teaching people of all ages that science is fun, it is cool, and it is important.  So why they have us jump around and play Simon Says?  In a time when science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in America are falling way behind the international standards, when evolution and contraception are under attack in American schools, two of the most famous scientists in America did not once mention the importance of supporting STEM programs in our schools, of using logic and reason instead of emotion and ignorance, or of the importance of scientific and technological innovation in America's economic future.  There are congressional, senatorial, and gubernatorial candidates on ballots across America right now that support the dismantling of the Department of Education, allowing schools to teach creationism and abstinence only education without mention of Darwinian evolution or basic sexual health.  In an event designed to restore sanity to America, how could issues as insane as these be ignored?   A crucial part of science is pointing out the things that are flawed and proposing logical, well reasoned solutions.  Instead, we played with a seismometer, laughed like a mad scientist, and did the wave.  As they left the stage, I could only wonder why they would pass on such a great opportunity to spread the idea that embracing science is not only critically important to the future of American prosperity, but that its also an enjoyable and rewarding field of employment for the thousands, millions of youths who were watching the rally across the country.

The desire to restore sanity in American politics is not a moderate, apolitical ideal.  Sanity in America does not simply refer to the Glenn Becks, Sarah Palins, and Christine O'Donnells of the world.  Sanity is more than toning down the rhetoric, stopping the communist/socialist/Marxist comparisons, and ending the mistruths and half truths from politicians.  Sanity is also a policy issue and a civil rights issue, and the insane ideas need to be shown for what they are.  Why can't all Americans marry who they love, or serve the country they love by joining the military?  What about NewsCorp's propaganda machine, Citizens United,  or the privatization of Social Security, Medicare, and the VA?  What about the Tea Party?  What about the hateful, racist, anti-Muslim and anti-Hispanic rhetoric?   More money was spent on attack adds and dirty politics in one election cycle than in any campaign season in the history of American Politics.  Why were none of these absolutely insane issues discussed?  Wanting to promote sanity while avoiding a political stance is impossible when one of the two mainstream political stances in America is completely insane!

And why did Jon Stewart not once tell the hundreds of thousands of voters in attendence to GET OUT AND VOTE!?  Talk about a missed opportunity!

Jon Stewart is a self proclaimed liberal, yet he ignored that part of himself at the rally.  He said on Crossfire long ago that the "absurdity of the system" provides him with his best comedic material, and its true.  However, this event should not have been about comedy.  This event should have been about restoring sanity not only in the media and the public discourse, but also in public policy and the leaders we choose, and realizing the difference between what is politically smart and what is right for the people of America.

The one glimmer I saw was that the people.  Hundreds of thousands of people, from across the country, all walks of life, all races, ages, upbringings, experiences.  Hundreds of thousands of people united in hope of a new America beginning that day.  Chris Matthews said on Hardball Sunday that the people wanted comedy, a good time, a Woodstock style hazy memory of fun, but I disagree.  I was there for fun; that was guaranteed by some of the funniest people on TV organizing and hosting the event.  But I was really there for a political rally.  I was there to hear a message.  I was there to see the beginning of change in America, the beginning of the future, and I think that's why everyone else was there too.  The people who spent millions of collective travel hours to get to DC, took time off work in a time when money is a precious and fleeting thing.  The people I was crammed in with on the Metro platform when the morning chill still hung in the air, the hundreds of thousands of hungry, thirsty, aching, Americans with a totally violated sense of personal space and sun burned right cheeks and foreheads, who had to wait hours for a table at any restaurant in downtown DC, hours for a ride out of town when the Metro stations were so overloaded they had to close down.  We didn't go through that for a three hour MTV/Comedy Central entertainment event.  We went to see the birth of a new America.

Beck and Palin have said that they think the future of America is in their audience, when in fact the real future of America is in the Stewart-Colbert audience.  We are the generation of America's future; the young, the intelligent, the diverse, the people who are old enough to vote but too young to hold office, and are tired of the corrupt political theater production that is our government.  We all believe in a saner, smarter, better America.  Jon Stewart brought us together in an amazing way.  I guess I just expected too much of him to think that he would go to the next step and maybe lead us a little bit too.

Beck and Palin also have said they believe they are the beginning of a revolution in America, but they're wrong.  They're only the death throes of the hardline Conservative movement in America.  The real budding revolution in America is a progressive revolution, and one which will focus on everything this rally stood for: sanity, respect, and righteousness.  I thought this rally would be the moment that sparked that revolution.  But the thing is, it wasn't a rally; it was a show.  I had a good time, but I'm still pretty disappointed.  Maybe I, and everyone else, should have gone to Ed's OneNation rally instead.