More than a thousand people gathered on the Mall in Washington, D.C. this weekend to hear a lineup of speakers address the issues of restoring honor and returning to a role for religion and God in American life, including American public life. With presenters from Glenn Beck to Sarah Palin, from parents, soldiers, commanders, and veterans of our military, to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece Alveda King, the speakers stayed true to their message for the entire three-hour program. The religious themes and restoring honor message were applauded repeatedly by the crowd.
A flyover shot published in New York Times shows rally-goers stretched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, reporting a crowd estimate in the neighborhood of 300,000.
There are also crowds of people out of sight of these photos under the shade of trees along the length of the mall. Estimates vary widely,(almost wildly) however, depending on source. Whomsoever’s estimate is most accurate, the Metro trains and stops were shoulder to shoulder with people and took hours to negotiate, the crowd was enormous and peaceful throughout, and the grounds were virtually spotless as rally-goers left the Beck event.
