Local impresario Nick Armstrong organized a Fort Collins Meetup Group to coincide with the Rally For Sanity in Washington, DC. Upwards of 38 people signed up beforehand, but the actual Meetup at the Lyric Theater this morning drew a somewhat sparser group than that.

Maybe 20 people showed up. Still, I was interested to see that, aside from two or three couples, no one knew anyone else. The Meetup attracted a group of people who independently decided it was worth their time to give up their Saturday morning and go chat with others about what it means to live in a society where, as I see it, crazy politics hold standing.

Coffee was drunk. Breakfast cereal was eaten (because the Lyric Theater hosts cartoons and an unlimited "cereal bar" on Saturday mornings). And a reporter from the Coloradoan showed up.

I don't think the event warranted press coverage, and I'm very curious to read what the reporter, Robert Allen, finds to write about. Allen said he'd only been working for the Coloradoan for four weeks and that, in the afternoon, he'd be reporting on a Teabagger rally in Loveland, which used to be the kind of event that Executive Editor Bob Moore covered.

So, what was talked about? Ways of putting the crazy back in the box. That was Nick Armstrong's idea, and he initiated the group discussion by asking people to write down on index cards the crazy things that needed to change, in order to restore sanity. People offered all kinds of suggestions, some of them humorous, some serious. A consensus quickly emerged that Glenn Beck and Teabagging did not serve the country well.

There was also a sense that all sides of the political spectrum contributed to our polarized politics. I disagree with that false equivalency, but on a Saturday morning in Old Town, while in the company of a small group of good people, why argue? It was a pleasure to hear strangers agree that a saner, more civil public discourse would serve our country better than the extreme, irrational hysterics that we've got going now.


UPDATE, Sunday, October 31, 2010: Here's Robert Allen's Coloradoan article about the event (Robert Allen [30-Oct-10], Local Sanity-Fear rally draws small, reflective group, Coloradoan, online at www.coloradoan.com).

Local Sanity-Fear Rally Draws Small, Reflective Group
About 16 people reflected on political extremes Saturday in Fort Collins, giving a locals' nod to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear occurring in Washington D.C.

People at the Lyric Cinema and Cafe – which later screened the rally in Washington – had discussion on the porch as they wrote down crazy ideas present in politics. Submissions ran from "polarization" to "bandwagon mentality" and "eating babies."

Much of the conversation regarded the Tea Party movement. Washington's Sanity-Fear rally was announced not long after a rally Glen Beck held there to advocate Tea Party ideas.

"You can't combat crazy with anything that's even remotely rational," Robert Niles of Fort Collins said.

The local conversation was more an analysis of the national picture than advocacy of partisan ideas, and backers of Democrats as well as Republican Ron Paul appeared to agree on several points made.

UPDATE, Sunday, October 31, 2010: It looks like Robert Allen's written two Coloradoan articles about the event. Here's the one published in today's paper (Robert Allen [31-Oct-10], People gather downtown for glimpse of sanity, Coloradoan, page A3-A4, and online at www.coloradoan.com).

People Gather Downtown for Glimpse of Sanity
About 16 people reflected on political extremes Saturday in Fort Collins, giving a locals' nod to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear occurring in Washington D.C.

People at the Lyric Cinema & Cafe – which later screened the Washington rally – had discussions on the porch as they wrote down "crazy" ideas present in politics. Submissions ran from "polarization" to "bandwagon mentality."

Much of the conversation regarded the tea party movement. Washington's Sanity-Fear rally was announced not long after TV commentator Glenn Beck had a rally there to advocate tea party ideas.

The Washington, D.C., event hosted Saturday by Comedy Central personalities Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert drew tens of thousands of people, according to an article on USAToday.com.

"You can't combat crazy with anything that's even remotely rational," said Bob Niles of Fort Collins.

Ron Paul supporter Vicki Runyan, 58, also supports American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo and said the tea party movement is backed by neo-conservatives who have taken an initially positive movement in the wrong direction.

"It was a pure act initially," she said. "I think a lot of it is for show."

Liz Sunshine, who said she tends to vote Democratic, but "I vote sane," said she attended the rally because, "I want to have a rational conversation about my country."

Several in the discussion agreed that the tea partyers – such as those in the recent video of the stomping of a moveon.org activist outside a recent Kentucky senatorial debate – probably wouldn't be as angry outside of a group. But others said there's a serious problem with demagoguery.

Saturday's discussion also touched on education and words from late comedian George Carlin, who said people running the country behind the scenes don't want people to think for themselves.

"Critical thinking is a skill that's getting educated out of our children," said Cori Grant of Estes Park.

The discussion concluded with the consensus that people should demonstrate open-mindedness, rather than just talking about it, and tolerate others' ideas.

"People think their family is weird but still love them," said Nick Armstrong, who organized the gathering.

The ideas people wrote on notecards were submitted to a box that later would be destroyed (recycled), he said.

"Discussions like this are key," said Alyssa Borrelli, a Colorado State University graduate student studying watershed science. "It's important people get together and discuss what's going on."