Think for yourself

Saturday’s sane shenanigans began with coffee with Jonathan and a guy he worked with on the Obama campaign in Iowa. It was great to get to meet him, hear a bit about what he does at the Department of Defense, and listen to stories of the trying times he had while working on the campaign (sleeping in his car for four days and using coffee shop bathrooms to wash up and brush his teeth).

.

But more than anything, what I appreciated the most was the opportunity to see what I believe to be Washingtonian appreciation in full glory. Upon first meeting my friend’s former coworker, he explained how he knew Jonathan and how Jonathan had been such a help to the campaign because he recruited 20 or 30 people to caucus. Later, when talking to a fourth person that met us for coffee, he explained that Jonathan had recruited 40 students to caucus. Jonathan repeatedly informed me, under his breath, that it was no more than 20.But no matter. With each explanation, his former coworker exuded genuine appreciation.

.

This is not to say that all Washingtonians possess this fantastic trait. But this exchange, which I have seen on a number of occasions during the past eight weeks, was somewhat of an irregularity in the Midwest. Yes, Midwesterners are willing to help each other out, but there does not seem to be the same genuine, outspoken appreciation for others. Now noticing this, I hope I can keep this trait wherever I go in the future because, in light of a conversation I had with a coworker one day on the difference between managing and leading (and how the main difference is that a manager oversees that people do a task, while a leader will inspire them to work hard and put effort into their work), I think that this quality makes for a great leader.

.

And onto the rally. We got there around 11:30 a.m., under any other circumstances, would be considered extremely early, but because there were well over 200,000 other people in attendance, we were in the second to last section with enough standing room to move my elbows out about four inches. And as you could have guessed from my 5’6” stature, I wasn’t able to see a thing aside from the other vision-frustrated ralliers who decided to climb trees in order to get a better view.

.

Being at the rally was great, and it was fun to be a part of such a large cause. It was also exciting to see many different generations represented because as much as I believe in my generation, the cause seemed all the more validated because of the older population there, as Stewart’s message was something that struck a chord with them and their time-tested experience.

.

And as one could have predicted, many news media outlets missed the point in their coverage of the rally. One station reported that even though the rallies were held in conjunction with one another, Colbert was still fighting strongly for his, to keep fear alive. Having been there, listened to their message, and understood that they were critiquing the dramatic, misrepresentative black and white contrasts (and other media tendencies) the news report came off as nothing but comical. How could they miss the point entirely?