Apparently, it is politically en vogue to organize a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to get everyone’s attention. Both the political left and right have taken turns descending on the nation’s Capital to make it clear to all Americans where they stand on some of the most volatile issues of our time.

Glenn Beck, along with thousands of Tea Party activists, did it with a “Restoring Honor” rally, while hundreds of left-wing liberal groups organized their own “One Nation Working Together” rally in response.

In both cases, the people of America got a good taste of how the fringes in this country feel. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not frowning on activism.

Freedom of speech makes America great, but I feel we’ve gotten a little too caught up in our own political discourses as of late. And in the process, we’ve forgotten how to listen.

Never has the political climate in this country been more divisive than it is right now. As a young student preparing for my future, it frustrates me to see the system break down.

The upcoming mid-term elections only have served to highlight the growing divide in the country that seems to grow wider each day. We have allowed the fringes to be the loudest voices in the conversation, and in the process, we have lost sight of what democracy is all about.

No longer can we get through conversations with individuals we might disagree with in a civilized and mature fashion without yelling and pointing fingers.

Look no further than cable news on any given night, or the recent spat on the ABC daytime talk show “The View,” to see evidence of how hostile the environment can become when we find ourselves surrounded by those who don’t necessarily have the same views.

James Madison, one of the founding fathers of this country, once said democracy, in effect, could not exist without the art of compromise. He realized the importance of cooperation in maintaining a functioning government.

To quote another former president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, “All human problems, excepting morals, come into the gray areas. … The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.”

Now, I acknowledge the extreme voices of the political spectrum in this country have — and always should have — a place in the national conversation, but they should by no means become the dominant voices in the conversation.

And so, cue the latest attempt to organize a rally on the National Mall, but this time around, the fringes are asked to stay home.

Comedian Jon Stewart recently announced his plans to hold a “Rally to Restore Sanity” in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to drown out the voices emanating from the far corners of the right and left in this country.

It’s an interesting proposition, and although it’s still too early to gauge whether the reasonable, moderate voices of America will flock to the nation’s capital at the end of the month, it is definitely a telling sign of how far off track we’ve gotten in the past decade or so.

There’s a reason the majority of young voters in this state and at MSU are, for the most part, detached and unenthusiastic about the upcoming elections.

That reason mostly revolves around the fact things have gotten so out of hand most of us feel there is little we can do to change the path the country is on. Politicians determined to keep things deadlocked offer little hope or evidence of change.

The system seems broken beyond repair, and the extreme voices continue to overwhelm the majority in this country. Something has got to give.
We’ve been engulfed by madness for too long. It’s time to let sanity ensue.

Josh Sidorowicz is a State News staff writer. Reach him at sidorowi@msu.edu.