I'm seriously considering going to this. Has anyone else been reading up on or following it?

175,000+ attending according to Facebook.

The basic premise behind the rally is that the majority of people in this country are looking for rational compromises to problems... moderates, if you will. However, the loudest and most hateful rhetoric is that which is most profitable and thus that which we see the most of. Jon Stewart is calling for people who've long since had enough, who can disagree with someone without insulting them, and who would rather listen to someone who is intelligent than someone who is yelling.

To me, the segment from 8:15-12:15 on The Daily Show here sums up the problems best. The media in this country, with very few exceptions across the board, is absolutely terrible. On top of that, there are almost no standards on journalistic integrity in television, leading to disingenuous discussion that doesn't actually address any issues. As more and more people seek their own information from sources that are informative, rather than those which push agendas, they will be a driving force in the future of the country.

Stewart is a very insightful comedian who is extraordinarily bright, and I think it would be the time of a life being with so many like minded people. He's had some pretty powerful people on his show in the past week or two: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and the present King of Jordan.

If you don't really know about his involvement in politics, here's a couple of videos that give you some insight into his way of thinking:
Appearing on Crossfire to criticize it and the hosts. Absolutely destroys them and leads to the show's cancellation.
Completely tears a Fox News segment apart.

Definitely want to hear people's thoughts on this, especially those of you who lean more to the right.

There's a good chance I'll be going with a few friends.

How are you getting there and where from?

Everyone is talking about driving but I can't imagine parking in DC is going to be cheap. I'm looking at getting to NYC from Massachusetts for free busing down, or just from Boston to DC straight.

My friends are driving up and getting a room, but I'm going to fly in, and share said room with them. Then we all drive back together.

I wish I could go. The media, politicians, all this crap that currently constitutes American politics needs a change. My college has a big huge shindig planned though, and I don't really foresee any way to get out of it, short of lying. Which I try to stay away from IRL.

Sounds more like you should be at Beck's rally, not this one.

Nah dawg. He's right. The way our government is set up, you are pushing for your party's political agenda rather than for the country's sake. It's messed up as hell. The media is catered to dumbasses. Somehow, stupid stories like "A cat that steals peoples gloves" make headline news.

Do you watch the daily show? =p That's basically all he talks about.

Holy shit! I gotta see this

My thoughts exactly. That's not a stupid article at all, that's incredibly cool and interesting.

It really is.

Anyways, I wish I could go, but I've got school, and I'm poor, and I live in Colorado. I will show my support however possible, though. I love the Daily Show, and I hope that this has a lot of political effect, and won't be too heavy on the 'joke' side. If ya know what I'm sayin'.

This made it to NBC, but I didn't feel like looking up the actual NBC article.

Don't you think news should actually report important matters? Like things that effect the entire world or the economy or something? Like not stupid shit like this?

Same

Man, 'important shit' is a laughable idea. To me, a cat that can steal stuff like a ninja is a lot more important that old politicians who don't do anything cool at all.

EDIT: Holy shit, I just read that article and it made my day. That cat is so cool, it's not even funny. (Yeah, I think it's safe to say that he's even cooler than my cat :S)

He's pretty explicit about how this is really only both sides being able to listen to each other without any more demonization, conspiracy theories, and being able to respectfully disagree. If you're going because think he's going to show you the right way to do everything, then you're not informed on the rally. It's more of an anti-rally.

... just watch the links I posted in the OP and then re-examine what you think of Stewart's philosophy on the media and politicians. The problem isn't average people being angry debaters, the problem is the people with a voice in the media and the politicians are the ones incapable of dialectic.

I don't expect to be "shown the right way to do" anything. I expect mainly a sermon on what he feels is wrong with the American political system and some humorous and pathetic examples, much like his show.

He's said many times that he's not someone who tries to solves problems, he's merely the one who points them out. This will hopefully be somewhat of a change from that view, but I doubt it.

I'm gonna punch you so hard when I see you.

These are the posts that make me want to be able to +rep someone.

I'm disconcerted to hear that Steven Colbert is doing a "Rally to Keep Fear Alive" alongside Jon Stewart's rally.

I can't go because of my accelerated college program. Someone please hold the "I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler" sign for me.

Thats because you're missing the true genius going on here. Stephen Colbert used to be a correspondent on Stewart's show, they're both in on this, their writers are collaborating, ect. A few things could happen: If Stewarts audience that shows up is really so level minded and reasonable and such as people might expect, and Colbert's audience is really crazy redneck republican bible-toting madmen like other people expect, then the rallies side by side will bring the contrast to light in many obvious ways. Or, maybe both rallies are going to have a mix of people, and the idea is to highlight the radicals from both parties. Colbert's rally isn't actually going to be about "keeping fear alive." They'll have a punchline, I'm sure of it. (Though the punchline could have some monetary benefit for the shows, haha). I suppose I could be wrong, and it's all about kicks and giggles, but I don't think so.