You may or may not have heard, but evidently tens of thousands of young people are expected to descend on Washington this Saturday in a march for sanity and/or fear. The March for Sanity and/or Fear devised by comedians Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert has been greeted with disdain from large parts of the punditry. Some point to the march as evidence of a cynical generation, while others have criticized Colbert and Stewart as "lousy leaders".
Stewart and Colbert are brilliant comedians, but they don't have a dream much less a solution. What they have done, every night on their shows, is ask a ton of valuable questions. They destroy conventional wisdom and tear into the most ridiculous assumptions in a way that's accessible and palatable to viewers young and old alike. Their shows point out the absurd hilarity of a political process that is embarrassingly broken and a media culture that elevates the trivial to the top of the news cycle all while provoking the viewer to want to scream, What is going on?
But, it's important to note that while they incite us all to ask questions, they never attempt to answer them. They allow politicians and pundits to provide explanations, and -- let's be real -- their explanations have left much to be desired.
Intentional or not, the rally for Fear and/or Sanity falls the weekend before the midterm elections in an election year that's got many wondering if young people will turn out to vote. They point to the rally as evidence of our cynicism and suggest that we all see the political process as a big bad joke. Yet the fact is that, as shown in a recent Rock the Vote poll, that over 83% of young voters continue to believe that our generation has the power to change the country. This generation is growing rapidly, more and more of us are of voting age and our power at the polls is no joke.
Noting this, Campus Progress took on Stephen Colbert's false and preposterous claim that bears are the greatest threat to Colbert Nation in a new video, watch below.
Bears may have the power to ransack your house and eat you, but they don't have the power to vote for the leaders of the free world on Election Day.
Election Day is this Tuesday; visit Vote Again 2010 for more information on how you can be the threat this November 2nd.
Cross Posted at Campus Progress
Follow Sara Haile-Mariam on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Sarahailemariam
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Hey, if Mr Obama release the 85 unseen Pentagon 911 videos that Bush hid because they Incriminate Bush just like the missing 9 minutes of the Nixon tapes incriminate Nixon,
The Democrats running will win by landslides.
Dick Armey and the tea party backers....yeh.....
We cannot do this! In 1987, Ronald Reagan eliminated the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine made it clear that the media must give equal time to political candidates. This may not worry anyone now, but there was another statement in that Doctrine that stated there was an expectation that news on/in the media would be ACCURATE! As in any endeavor, however, there are always those “snakes” who find a loophole to “get around” the loss of one thing and replace it with another.
With the loss of the Fairness Doctrine, we lost the expectation of truth in media. This means that anyone can lie while using the media, and do they lie! Lying to the American people is said to be “a public forum” and, therefore, does not need to tell the truth! The lying people have continued using that “loophole” to serve their own purposes now, not the purposes of the Citizens of the U.S. Without truth, democracy cannot continue. We cannot continue as a democracy without truth from our media!
More inertia in Congress while the GOP stalls and stalls and obstructs like that somehow shows how well they would run things. FYI...standing stock playing the role of cement block in the road is not a demonstration of govening skills.
You guys as so busy treating the political life of the United States as a good ole football game you can't even see the damage you're doing can yah?
I hope the Sanity Rally is huge and I hope the message gets heard.
Before you angrily go to vote out the party in power at a time when things are not going well, think about this. Corporate leaders showed their true greed when they moved factories overseas, helping other countries while harming our country. They are poisoning the air and water by causing more pollution manufacturing without regulations, using more fuel shipping the goods, and other bad things. They decided to change their business model such that their laid-off workers cannot afford their product without credit, and their new workers cannot afford it due to poverty. Many corporations did this, so now a huge segment of America is out of work, some losing their credit and their homes. All so the corporations could make more profits and money than they know what to do with. These "leaders" don't care about you, they don't care about America, they don't care about sending the economy spiraling down the drain. The corporate owners already have more money than they can spend in 10 life times no matter what happens to the company they lead. They are rich enough to buy this election for the party out of power that will reduce their taxes, eliminate regulations, and make them even richer despite the harm their decisions have caused. They have too much money, power, control, and influence for our own good.
Beware of Polls That Exclude Cell Phone-Only Voters
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/10/19-3
It's the responsibility of US and world leaders and experts to know the answers to these complicated questions, not some cheez-head commentators on cable news.
No joke is right!
Not only does your generation have the power to change the country - You have a Chance to SAVE the very Heart and Soul of Our Nation Right NOW - so FREEDOM may prevail for ALL!
I for one WILL NOT COUNT YOU OUT, SARAH or your entire generation when it comes to who is going to ROCK THE VOTE in the Midterms - as a matter of fact - I am counting on all of you to save all of us - from the Insani-TEA of the Witches Brew!
Rock the Vote, Sarah - Yes we Can! Yes We Will!
THANK YOU!
I've given up on my generation.
I'm 49, and I approve this message.
President Obama's Achievements Center
http://obamaachievements.org/list#toc-24
Spread this link around--from now until election day I'm going to be posting this periodically because people need to see in plain English what President Obama has accomplished while in office, thanks.