Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Turning Point?

The success of the Stewart-Colbert Rally for Sanity is remarkable.  I mean in some ways I would not expect much less considering the popularity of the duo and their TV spots.  I am a big fan and love their style.  I'm a child of the old Saturday Night Live crowd with Steve Martin, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, and all the others.  Second City TV was another favorite.  I've watched Kids in the Hall.  And MadTV takes it to 'a-hole-nutha-level'.  For those of us that enjoy the freedom of the script-less banter, this bring much joy and entertainment.


In the case of Stewart and Colbert, their following, their TV followers, in times that are 'hard, not end' times, their rally was about core issues of being genuine, acknowledging the challenge and difficulty.  And it became the opportunity to see someone you really enjoyed.  For free.  And with the energy of several hundred thousand folks all on the same wavelength, I expect that was a special experience for any directly involved.  So much energy no doubt, that satellite rallies sprouted in as number of locations.


We are energy (and a lot of other stuff, but right down to our thoughts, dreams, and emotions, we are energy), and collectively, we are more energy.  History has shown what can happen with collective movements of energy.  Sometimes good, and sometimes not so good.  Woodstock.  The rush into the the complex world of securitization.  Calgary/Vancouver Winter Olympics 1988/2010.  The rush into Bre-X.  I'm sure one could do a research paper of something like that, or possibly several.  Certainly in the animal world, the 'energy' of a school of fish or flock of birds or a herd of impala moving in harmony and with precision is strong evidence to me of the 'value' of collective energy.


This meeting of collective energies in Washington, DC.   What does it reflect, represent ........... predict?  Many that have been reading and writing of the current financial debacle can agree that a 'tipping point' is all that is necessary to shake the confidence of the global capital markets, and dominoes will fall.  No one for sure knows, when or to what degree, or how.  The Greek crisis.  The Anglo-Irish Bank.  China and the Yuan.  Japan and the Yen.  US and the Dollar, I suppose currencies in general.  The Euro for sure.  The Pound no less.  The Iceland volcano.  The Pakistan and Thailand floods.  The Hungary toxic red sludge.  There have been more than enough 'triggers'?  no?  or not the right one?


The voice of the people is getting louder.  The success of this rally is an indicator of the depth and breadth of the feelings across America.  I read the other day that a few mathematics researchers have developed an algorithm that takes 10 million tweets and analyses the 'mood' of the people.  When I was training to trade futures, and in my reference to liking animal behaviour, my teacher said - "you'll love this, the markets are nothing but the biggest human behaviour experiment!".  With the 'mood' of the people follows the energy (or vice versa depending on which view you prescribe to), The mood is getting louder, and the energy is building.  What better vehicle to further this initiative, the let's get real one, than Comedy Central and a couple of the best standup comedians.  And Cat Stevens.  And Ozzy Ozbourne.  Priceless!


99ers and Tier 5 – Commie Central Rally to Restore Sanity 

World News Heard now - ‎1 hour ago‎
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert held rallies yesterday at our nation's capitol. The rallies were dubbed, “Rally to Restore Sanity” and “The March to Keep ...

Anchorage Joins National "Rally To Restore Sanity" 

KTVA CBS 11 News Alaska - Natalie Travis - ‎4 hours ago‎
The Anchorage Rally to Restore Sanity was not supposed to be about political lines, however, the event appeared to be mostly attended by Democrats. ...

Scenes from the Rally to Restore Sanity 

Salon - ‎1 hour ago‎
Held a big rally but what was it for? A lot of white people, that is! Must be a bunch of RACISTS! "I am not a coyote. I'm you." It was fun, silly, ...

Cat Stevens' And Ozzy Osbourne Performs During 'Rally To Restore Sanity'

Thaindian.com - Meena Kar - ‎1 hour ago‎
Oct 31, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Singer Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam) performed during the 'Rally To Restore Sanity' on Saturday afternoon in ...

'Rally to Restore Sanity': The Roots' Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson on the March 

Wall Street Journal (blog) - Christopher John Farley - ‎17 hours ago‎
Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, the drummer and bandleader of The Roots, served as the musical anchor for today's “Rally to Restore Sanity...

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear: Los Angeles Edition 

Wall Street Journal (blog) - Dennis Nishi - ‎14 hours ago‎
The live simulcast of the Rally began at 9:00 am pst in MacArthur Park in Westlake, west of downtown Los Angeles. ...

I rode the Huffington Post Sanity bus 

Salon - Adrianne Jeffries - ‎47 minutes ago‎
"Welcome to the Rally to Restore Sanity, from Arianna Huffington!” a HuffPoster said over a bullhorn as we disembarked from the bus. ...

Crowd touts moderation at Lee Harvey's Stewart-Colbert rally in Dallas 

Dallas Morning News - Jana J. Martin - ‎6 hours ago‎
The crowd at Lee Harvey's was spirited on Saturday as people watched the 'Rally to Restore Sanityand/or Fear' in Washington on two large screens. ...

No comments: