This is a story about my trip to my first political rally that really doesn’t include much about the rally itself.
What I learned on Saturday truly was that this saying we hear all the time is true: Life is about the journey not the destination. And the journey can be a marvelous experience in and of itself.
Saturday, Oct. 30 I woke at 3:47AM with just one question on my mind: Why does a rally to restore sanity require an insane wake-up call? Silly question, I know. But after just arriving home hours ago from a 650-mile drive from Charlotte back to my home in NYC, it seemed relevant. My warm bed beckoned me to stay under my goose duvet. But I had made a commitment to one of my dearest friends, Trish, to join her on the free busses that Huffington Post provided. All I had to do was get dressed and get myself to Citi Field (the home of the NY Mets and next to where Shea Stadium used to be) and hop on. It couldn’t be easier, I reconciled.
On the 25-minute drive from my home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn to Queens, I asked myself, “Why am I really doing this? Is this just one of those things I say yes to instantly?” I like to think of myself as more passionate than impetuous. But it’s the idea from the quote that says “all that evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing” that inspires me to action. In today’s hurly burly world, it’s very easy to be apathetic. Not because no one cares but the realities of life – work, bills to pay, children and elderly parents to take care of, exhaustion – do take their toll on one.
I was truly appreciative that Jon Stewart provided a forum to take a few hours to stop and say, “Hey, I think the vitriol of the public discourse (as often witnessed on TV news and in newspapers) is insane and it does not have to be.” This truly bothers me both as a journalist and as someone whose family became citizens by choice.
The drive into the packed parking lot told me this would be no ordinary day as thousands of cars, more than 190 busses and cabs strained into the gate to park. An unexpected NY moment happened when I ducked in front of a cab to get ahead. As the cab pulled up alongside me and rolled down his window, I prepared myself for what I thought would be some verbal attack for cutting him off. Instead the Middle Eastern driver asked, “Are you going to this rally?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“The one in Washington?” he peppered.
“Yes,” I said again.
“With Jon Stewart?” he continued.
“YES!” I stressed.
“That’s awesome! You’re going to have a great day!” he shouted and waved.
I smiled. I didn’t know if he thought that this woman behind the wheel of my silver Lexus SUV didn’t look like the 20-30 something’s he saw flooding the gates but I liked to think he thought he was coming with me in spirit to something bigger. And that he celebrated the idea that you didn’t have to just be one kind of person to stand up for democracy.
In the midst of the 40-degree, cold, windy and dark morning, it was hard not to be excited. Almost 12, 000 people wrapped around the building. It was truly the huddled masses yearning to break free but not from something but to something bigger, a grander idea perhaps that individually and collectively people can make a difference.
There was joy, hope and optimism in abundance in a way I had never experienced before. And like all great crowd moments, people befriended one another easily. There were people there alone or with a group; the age range went from 10-75. Conversations of substance comingled with quips about some of the signs and outfits people wore (it was the day before Halloween, after all.) Ideas were shared, people talked about the challenges we faced with an eye not on blaming but on truly getting to the root of why they started and what could we do about it now.
Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington made an appearance and the crowd went wild. It only took an hour for insanity to reign as the once neatly formed lines turned into a bum rush for the busses. But by 7 AM, Trish and I were on our bus making our way to DC.
The bus ride was super silent (inspired, perhaps, by a lack of oxygen) but what you could see in virtually every seat was an iPhone or PDA as people tweeted or updated their Facebook status and connected with others online. If you don’t think Generation Y is leading the tech revolution, think again.
Thanks to thousands of cars pilling into the area, our arrival was delayed. When the rally started on the Mall at noon, those iPhones became personal TV watchers as many watched the rally take place and the band the Roots kick it in to high gear. We arrived at RFK Stadium at 12:30 PM where we were expected to hop on to DC’s subway, the Metro.
Rather than join the hundreds of people straining to buy a metro ticket at the Stadium stop, Trish and I and maybe 50 other people decided to walk to the next stop about a mile and a half way. As we walked through the quaint neighborhood on Potomac Avenue, homeowners who saw this mini-parade of people going to the Mall cheered us on and shouted out well wishes. How could that not bring a smile to one’s face? Again, it felt like everyone was part of this whether you went to the actual rally or not.
While waiting for a train that wasn’t packed to the gills, a fellow traveler, who had stopped somewhere to buy a pizza, offered us some of his lunch. We politely declined but took the gesture to heart. It reminded me of going on a pilgrimage. We’re all so busy day to day. When do we ever have time to stop and share? By this time it was already, 1:15PM. “Do you think this is going to be a day where we went to the rally and never actually get to see the rally?” asked my absolutely wonderful travelling companion. BTW, if you ever go on an adventure, take someone wonderful and not whiny, like my friend Trish. I thanked my lucky stars for having a friend who always embraces life in such a positive way and knew my journey would not have been nearly as fun without her.
By the time we arrived at the Federal Triangle stop and got out of the station, we were bombarded with hundreds of people (including a sobbing Batman – thanks, Halloween!) returning and somewhat disgruntled from the rally. They seemed to be miffed because there were too many people! Hello! This is a rally. Not a cotillion. This is a good thing!
At the Mall it was a sea of humanity. But there were so many hilarious signs and people in costume; you couldn’t not love to see the spectacle of it all. High on a telephone stood Jesus suggesting the legalization of pot. There were a ton of people in bear costumes offering hugs (offering a nod to Seth McFarlane’s “The Cleveland Show” which features Arianna Huffington as Arianna the Bear.) You didn’t have to agree with any of it but you had to appreciate the effort and humor it took to conceive these contraptions.
We heard both Stewart and Steven Colbert on the stage do some hilarious bits. But it took nearly one hour to cross the Mall in the swarm of people. The result: mini rallies broke out in groups of 2-10 all across the Mall with just the people in your immediate circle. And it was grand! “This is going to be awesome to watch tonight on my computer with a glass of wine,” said one fellow reveler who was as kind-hearted stranger as anyone I had just met. We all mused about why we showed up and how important it was just to lend our presence to the event. And that was what this day was all about.
After a quick stop at Teaism for lunch for some amazing Udon noodle soup, we joined the ensuing mob to return back to the busses. DC’s Metro, like the subways in Paris and San Francisco, require that you put your ticket through the turnstile when you exit as well. A number of NY subway riders, who are not used to this practice and the resulting logjam upon exiting that ensues, got a bit hot under the collar.
“This is crazy; I’m never coming back here to this!” shouted one Russian man. “There’s no need for yelling,” said one traveller. “They just do things differently here and that’s OK.”
That exchange stayed with me as the perfect microcosm of what this rally was all about. We may all have different opinions but we’re all going in the same direction. There’s no need for shouting.
