Rally to Restore Sanity

One of the best examples I can think of for public advocacy and civic engagement is the Rally to Restore Sanity that was held in DC in October 2010. The goal of the rally, led by Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, was to bring everyone together so that they could be heard and stop everyone from fighting with each other over controversial topics such as what political party they identified with. They had a very effective delivery, getting the audiences attention with their jokes and skits. They also provided the crowd with other entertainment such as music collaborations singing for the most part about togetherness. Everyone was completely engaged in what they were saying and seemed to take it to heart. They mentioned things that everyone could relate too which also brought the audience in. It was a topic that was really important in this country because so many people were polarizing themselves causing friction between the people who didn't agree with each other. The topic of this was clearly identified and both Colbert and Stewart tried to create a solution by bringing everyone together. It's a good thing to look at if you want to go at something in a kind of funny satire way to addressing a problem that provides so many people with stress and anger. Even if you don't want to come across in that way in the end Stewart provided an emotional speech that captivated the audience without much noise to get in the way of the message he was trying to convey.