Okay. Stewart and his fans want to “restore sanity.” Beck and his fans want to restore “honor.” Who doesn’t like sanity and honor? Of course everyone will say they want those things, and they might even believe that their actions reflect sanity and/or honor.
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. And even though I’m not religious, I’ll pull out Matthew 7:16, to wit: “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”
Beck claims he wants honor, but do his actions reflect honor to you? Passing on gross misrepresentation and out-of-context quotes as fact and proof of wild conspiracy theories? Doesn’t pass the “honor” test with me. Negatory. (Although I’m sure it does to some of his fans. Somewhere.)
Does the national conversation that Stewart advocates represent an actual return to sanity? I think it does. Fact-based, non-wild, reasonable discussion that aims to get us to listen, stop flinging monkey poo, and be rational for a change. This passes the “restoring sanity” test for me, much more than the “honor” that Beck claims. And the rally will help show that there are people out there interested in this, in a very physical way, much as a response to Beck’s rally.
And that is how they are different.