Restoring Honor: Man’s next giant leap
By Thomas Nash
Washington, D.C. 8/28/2010
Given the mystery surrounding the event organized by Glenn Beck, Anna and I had no idea what to expect. We were certain of only a few things:
- There would be a tremendous number of people
- Those people would be peaceful, patriotic Americans of all generations, races, religions and backgrounds
- We would leave there more inspired than ever to restore America’s founding promise.
On those three points, we were correct. Media estimates range from “a few tens of thousands” to 500,000. The former being a blatant attempt to marginalize the event, the latter probably coming up a bit short. What we do know about the numbers is that it does not matter. Whether there were six people or 600,000 or 6 million, the message is the same: People are starting to get it. We are starting to see exactly where we went wrong and how we should fix it.
As we surveyed the crowd from multiple vantage points, Anna and I could only find people who, at least for those three hours of their lives, were good and kind people. Everyone was courteous and friendly. Coming from New York City, it’s very rare that we feel comfortable enough to engage in conversation (especially religious or political) with strangers. Not here though. Here everyone was open to different viewpoints and willing or even eager to discuss the direction of our country.
The mainstream media wanted so badly for this to be a “Bund meeting” or “Klan rally”. They determined its outcome before it happened and obviously without watching a moment of Beck before the rally. Sure, on the one hand the hundreds of thousands were mostly white, but there were countless other groups represented. A white majority would still not imply a racist majority or a hateful rally. In fact, hundreds of thousands of white people stood and thunderously applauded the words of Dr. Martin Luther King. Alveda King, his niece, received what appeared to be the most enthusiastic applause of the day. This type of reaction is proof positive that no matter the ethnic or racial makeup of the event, we were all there as Americans; Americans who support each other and pray for each other.
There were times when we got choked up. There were times when we cried. The stories being told on stage, particularly of the soldiers who have either died or have been injured in service to their country were intended to uplift us and to remind us that there are selfless people out there. There are heroes.
In terms of protests or incidents witnessed, there were only two. One involved a lone protester whom we came across as we were entering the Mall at the beginning of the rally. He held a sign accusing Glenn Beck of lying and 
praising MSNBC. Rather than stoking a violent reaction, as the media would have loved, people approached him and questioned him politely. Some shook his hand or patted his back. Others took pictures and commended him on demonstrating for what he believes.
Another “incident” involved a left-wing “journalist” who was engaged in a game of Constitutional gotchya with a man dressed as a Founder. He was trying to bait the man into a falsely recognizing that the Constitution is a slave document. Obviously, he hasn’t read it or the words of our Founders. When a female supporter of the rally jumped in and asked what the “journalist” was trying to accomplish, he got in her face and started shouting that she was infringing on his freedom of the press. This served as confirmation to those around him that he truly has not read the Constitution. If he had, he would have known that the freedoms are protection from government infringement, not private and that is if you consider asking a question as infringement of your rights.
That aside, we left the rally more inspired than we had thought we would. A few prayers and a couple of verses of Amazing Grace sung in unison by nearly all in attendance and we were pumped to “Be the change…” We realize that it is not those three hours on the National Mall that will restore America but what we do from here. That is why we started Restorationary.com and that is why we encourage all of you to “Rethink” what you’ve been taught, “Research” American history for yourself and using the knowledge you gain “Restore” the values and principles that founded this planet’s last best hope for freedom.
God Bless the Unites States of America.
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