Thursday, September 16, 2010

Restoring Honor 8/28 Rally



Glenn Beck asked for people to write in and tell about their experience at the Restoring Honor Rally and this is what Jesse wrote:

First, I would like to say thank you to Glenn Beck and all of the supporting staff that helped to make this such a pleasant and inspirational experience. I will have to say that I have attended a couple of the TEA party events but never felt inspired to attend an event of this magnitude. This event was different. I am the father of four young children aged 8,6,4 and 2 and have a busy Optometry business. This was not something that financially or functionally made any sense. As I continued to listen to the program and watch the television show, with the support of my sweet wife, I felt more and more inspired to attend this event with my Father and my oldest son Bryson who is eight. He is a very smart and inquisitive child that also listens to Glenn Beck in the morning on the way to school. He is very interested in politics and sometimes to our amazement very bold about telling people about what he believes in. We are from Las Cruces, New Mexico so this was quite the trip, so we decided to get there on Wednesday and leave on Monday. We wanted to experience the Capitol with all it has to offer.

We first went to Arlington cemetery on Thursday, then experienced the Smithsonians and the Mall on Friday (we were wanting to go to the Kennedy center event but like many were unable to secure tickets). We had a wonderful and very inspirational experience leading up to the Restoring Rally honor. I felt that getting there early and seeing the Changing of the Guard at Arlington cemetery, seeing the patriotic exhibits at the National History Museum and all the history instilled a very real and deep sacrifice that has went into the Freedom and Founding of this great country. I think these experiences helped prepare us for the rally, and the rally made the trip to Mount Vernon that much more enjoyable the following day.

So we had properly prepared ourselves for the Restoring Honor Rally and let me say the Rally did not disappoint. It was so inspirational and cemented a bond between the Three Generations that were there My Father, Myself (his oldest child of six) and My Son (my oldest child). When you mentioned the eight year old that was maybe out there, I looked at my Son and I knew at that moment that the course of his life had been altered and he had found a moment that would anchor him and help shape him for the rest of his life.

The whole experience was wonderful and many times I found myself holding back emotions and a few times tears freely fell from my face. The tone of the rally was just perfect being above the fray of the politics of the day and concentrating on the core morals and principles that will shape the politics but not addressing them directly. I felt this was a stroke of genius - and gave very little for the Piranhas of the media to feed on. For the rally we found a nice place under the shade of the big trees right under where the V-formation of geese flew. Thanks once again for the effort that was put into this event and while all the effort was big, the pay-off was bigger. The water tents and the monitors were a nice touch and allowed for a more enjoyable and connected feel for the event.

Thanks again,
Jesse Sowards, O.D.









3 comments:

Beth said...

I'm glad you all got to go. It was an amazing sight seeing all those people when we watched it on TV.

Connie said...

Cool pics- looks like an awesome trip!

Moma said...

Thank you Jesse for planning this trip. What an experience. Like you said, what was reasonable about it, but that is what makes memories and the spontaneity of it was great. The pictures are wonderful