We came by car, train and plane. We came from across mountains, oceans and plains. We came together to proclaim: we are sane.

Last weekend I traveled to Washington D.C. to take part in the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. This was my first trip to D.C., and I have to say the impact it has had on me is profound.

The day before the rally I had the opportunity to walk around the National Mall. It was not the size or grandeur of those monuments that inflamed my “patrioticity,” but the words of heroes engraved in time surpassing stone. Reading those passages reaffirmed my commitment that I was there for a just cause.

Saturday, I woke up energized from the previous day of inspiration. I got down to the rally at 8 a.m., and got a spot as close to the stage as the general public was allowed. Waiting anxiously, I talked with others around me. Most came to support the rally, a few just to see the spectacle.

As the countdown to noon began more than 250,000 people rose to their tippy toes in anticipation. Bang went the drums of ?uestlove as The Roots took the stage. The Roots hour-long performance was only upstaged by Jon Stewart’s prophetic closing speech; however, being one of the few rocking out in my section, that opinion might not hold much external validity.

Although, that is what the rally was all about. We may have different likes, dislikes, feelings, emotions, faiths, sexual preferences, political ideologies, and pick of beer; but underneath it all we are Americans.

Much of Stewart’s closing speech reflected that point, and at the end I began to tear up. My emotions were not triggered by anything particularly moving, but surfaced from hearing words which should have not faded from public discourse long ago.

The rally did not restore my sanity; rather, the rally restored my faith. I now have faith that one day we will return to a nation where civility reigns over polarization, wisdom gives fear no quarter, and we work as one nation towards a better future for not only Americans, but all of mankind.

This Tuesday is your last chance to vote. I know I recently have been critical of the electoral process, but that is because I had been drunk on the negativity fed to my soul.

So, on Nov. 2, go and vote. Vote not for the politicians whom represent portions of America, but vote for those that work through compromise to represent all Americans.

We stood stronger than the sculpted rock. Together block after block after block. Led by nerds, musicians, and jocks. Together D.C., we rocked.