Restoring Honor Rally

Went to the Restoring Honor rally in D.C. yesterday with family. Much has been said in the news about it, much of which leaves out the details and focuses only on the reaction of Al Sharpton and others who claim the traditional mantle of "civil rights activist." Additionally, there were many protestors holding derogatory, even vulgar signs about Glenn Beck or others who attended, and included one Boy Scout dishonoring his uniform in an unkind political protest.

The argument Beck made superbly is this: Good government starts in the home, with ourselves as individuals, with our families and local communities; and from this personal form of self-government arises leaders who exemplify the qualities needed for self-government at all levels, namely faith, hope and charity. If we would have good self-government at the state and federal levels, then we must begin with ourselves. John Adams would have approved: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Also, "Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases."

The weather was perfect for the occasion. The metro was so heavily used that I could not get into the train with Kathy's dad; I ended up walking the 600 yards or so to the station exit where he later emerged. The aerial photos of the event show the area immediately around the reflecting pond full of people, and the parks to the left and right where jumbotrons were also set up. The World War 2 memorial had a speaker set in place which enabled more people at that far end and across the street leading up the hill to the Washington Monument to participate. I have not seen any pictures showing how large the crowd below the Washington Monument was, so I cannot say how many were there. The crowd everywhere we went was calm and polite, helpful whenever anyone had to cross through to get to family, and exceptionally generous--one family behind us furnished a chair for Kathy's dad to sit on, to avoid the pains of getting up and down from the ground. (Thanks again for your kindness!)

We believe that we participated in something that will be remembered in the history books as a positive force for basic moral and political strength. I hope that people put down their protests until they have read or listened to what was said and done, and judge the event by what happened and not by who produced it. I think Martin Luther King would have urged the same.