Having spent the weekend in Washington DC to attend the Rally for Sanity And/Or Fear, I am delighted to discover that real life can take place without the benefit of social media.
Surrounded by good-natured fellow Americans (and many foreigners too, I might add) I was treated to great music by the likes of the Roots, John Legend, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and many others. I heard Sam Waterston put on his “Law & Order” D.A. voice to recite Stephen Colbert’s very funny homage to fear.
I saw Jon Stewart at a great distance and then up close and personal on a big screen as he thanked all of us for coming, even though he, like me, did not know why we came. But my family had already decided that we were happy to be there just because we liked seeing so many other people who, like us, were happy to be there.
In that thought, of shared emotions and laughter and affection for Jon Stewart and / or Stephen Colbert and / or sanity and / or fear, we were one.
And now the social media part. As an editor at Family Travel Forum, I felt committed to reporting this event to the world or, at least, my little bit of it.
— To putting out a Tweet during the first song.
— To post photographs of my favorite signs (loved “Signs Make Me Afraid” and “I’m Mad As Hell But You Probably Are Too!”) to our Family Travel Forum facebook page.
— To remind the young travelers on our travelBIGO facebook page that they should get out and vote.
But I couldn’t.
Simply put, there were so many other people in that friendly crowd of 200,000 trying to digitally share the event with their friends and maybe followers, that none of us had internet access or even a cellular signal.
The disconnectivity put all those Verizon, AT&T, Virgin, T-Mobile and myriad other smartphone, netbook, laptop, electronic device-toting Americans (and foreigners) in the same place I was — enjoying the sun, breeze and lovefest vibe together. It was live, we were live and at last, feeling sane.
I guess you just had to be there.
Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.
