Mark your calendars. The Rally to Restore Sanity and the competing March to Keep Fear Alive will be held on Oct. 30 on the National Mall in Washington.
Jon Stewart is taking his penchant for parodying Glenn Beck to the next level by launching his own rally, “Rally to Restore Sanity,” at the National Mall on Oct. 30. Since no rally is complete without a counter-rally these days, Stephen Colbert will be there too, with his own “Keep Fear Alive” march.
Last night, Comedy Central faux journalists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert each made a "big announcement."
In response to "the loud folks," such as the Hitler-sign making folks, Stewart asks, "Why don't we hear from the 70-80 percenters?" – the majority of Americans who don't have extreme political views.
Enter the Rally to Restore Sanity.
"A million moderate march!” Stewart exclaimed.
“It is a real gathering. We will gather on the National Mall.”
“We will take to the streets to send a message to our leaders and our national media that says “We are HERE! But only until 6 because we have a sitter.”
“It will be a CLARION CALL for SANITY.”
With the motto of "Take it down a notch for America," Stewart is offering to provide signs with the "appropriate" level of political emotion, such as "I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler."
You could also go with "I am not afraid of Muslims/Tea Partiers/Socialists/Immigrants/Gun Owners/Gay...but I am scared of Spiders."
“Ours is a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) -- not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority,” Stewart’s rally’s website reads. “If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence... we couldn't. That's sort of the point.”
To underscore his targeting of the busy, Stewart held up a pre-made sign on his show Thursday night.
One read: “I disagree with you, but I’m pretty sure you’re not Hitler.”
To counter Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity and to restore "truthiness," Stephen Colbert announced his own rally: The March the Keep Fear Alive.
Calling Stewart's announcement "disturbing," Colbert says he will "not take it down a notch," saying that "Now is the time for all good men to freak out for freedom!"
And, "Need I point out that 'reason' is one letter away from 'treason?'" Colbert asks.
Colbert: “Book your hotel rooms now or your children will turn gay!”
Stewart: “Book your hotel rooms now because it will be difficult later.”
Is this an insightful mockery of media and politics, or another way to spoil a National Mall picnic on a Saturday afternoon?
Posted By: Richard Kigel
Saturday, September 18th 2010 at 4:14PM
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