Certified Sane

When we arrived in Washington DC last Friday, we immediately went to the Congressional and Senate buildings. We visited a number of offices of those elected officials who we have been spouting angry, racist, homophobic and irrational rhetoric from, Jim Demint to John Boehner, to ask them to please, mind their manners and show some respect to each other and to our President. Now, none of them were at the office, They only work four days a week and they had lit out of town because of the election this Tuesday. Their aides were polite, a bit frightened by our Northern Californina Lesbian Grandmother Presence, but we are civil,intelligent, loving people and we left them with our message, a smile and our integrity in tact.

It was a perfect precursor for participation for the Rally to Restore Sanity and or Keep Fear Alive that took place on the National Mall on October 30th. I must say, without a single doubt it was the most uplifting, restorative,powerful political rally I have ever been to for so many reasons. The company, the weather, the demographics, the signs, the comedy, the vocabulary, the heart and especially the inclusive nature of the event. For Mr. Stewart and Colbert invited everyone to the table and the program of performers from The Roots of Philadelphia, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, The Myth Busters, Kid Rock, Mavis Staples, the Ojays, Kareem Abdul Jabar, the Jet Blue flight attendant, Tony Bennett, a seven year old girl, Ozzy Osborne and Cat Steven proves my point.

To be among 300,000 people who were polite, friendly, willing to all jump at the same time to measure our impact or create the "stadium" wave to measure the distance from the stage to the back of the crowd was not only educational, but exhilarating as well. To be with so many different people who may not agree on every issue but do agree that it is time for intelligent, political discourse without hysterics, to keep a sense of humor and clean up after one's self was significant in these times when all the media is foaming at the mouth and the political rhetoric from all sides is mean, ugly and cruel was truly healing.

We met folks from Sacramento, Dallas, Seattle, LA, Minnesota, Kentucky, Florida. The older man who wanted to stand on our soap box so he could find his wife. There were the The African American women with signs that said, "Fired up and ready to vote". The white seven year old boy sitting next to us with his mother. The Iranian family who asked us to take their picture, the Asian lady who used our soapbox to stand on because she couldn't see. The Elderly couple who sat in their little camp chairs tapping their feet to the Ojays, And then we saw the signs like; "I get my comedy on Fox TV, I get my news on Comedy Central", "Babies will take our jobs in twenty years". "I masturbate and I vote", "Does this sign make my ass look big?" "No one is Hitler, but Hitler" "If my sign is blocking your view please tell me" "This sign is spelled correctly" "God hates people who write what God hates on signs". Funny, I tell you.

This rally was actually effective. When was the last time the Star Spangled Banner made you cry? Hearing actual soldiers sing it did it for me. When have you been at a really where people were quiet when someone singing or speaking on stage? Truly listening. When have you been at a rally when there was no trash left on the ground. Amazing!!

We were touched, we were deeply moved and we laughed till we cried. People all who had come to show the world that Americans are good, logical,educated and very funny people and In the end Mr. Stewart held this truth to be self evident by narrating a Jumbotron video of drivers merging into the Lincoln Tunnel. He imagined the diverses passengers inside, taking turns to drive through the 34 ft wide tunnel under a mighty river, you go then I'll go, you go then I'll go. It's a basic principle of humanity to take turns and then theirs a jerk who speeds up on the shoulder and cuts everybody off, but he's the exception. the metaphor was visual and visceral. He said we can, do and will work together to get through. He said these are hard times, not end times and sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is only New Jersey. Sanity plus wit is so comforting.

The fact that the Stewart Colbert Rally was twice the size of Glenn Becks' Rally gives me hope for tomorrow's election. We personally witnessed an American consciousness we've never seen in such huge numbers before and we are proud. This is the most important mid-term election of my life. The polls say that the the extreme right is going to take the country by storm tomorrow, but I think the pollsters featured on mainstream TV, on NPR and the New York Times, some who boycotted the rally, are stalled in the 20th century and their demographics can only be reached on land lines. Well, from what I saw this weekend in DC on the Mall, we have a new and exciting party in American Politics one you would never expect to upset an election because their so moderate, funny and sane. Ladies and Gentlemen, Make way for the surprise party. And oh yeah. Go Giants.