Twelve members of the Vegas - based conservative political group US Patriots attended the Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC this weekend. This local group describes itself as one that adheres to the principles of our Founding Fathers and the Constitution, with the slogan "We the people " installed on the header page of their website homepage. The group solicits membership from and welcomes " conservatives, moderates supporting the Constitution, Tea Party members, 912'ers, and all people considering themselves patriots including reluctant activists who are tired of screaming at their TV sets ". The group lists a total of approximately 160 local Vegas - area members.

The Restoring Honor program's main organizer and host, Fox News political contributor and show host Glenn Beck, estimated that over 400,000 people attended the event. This rally has of course been the subject of massive debate and media coverage with it's intent described as a non-political fundraiser for SOWF , the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. That nonprofit foundation provides support and assistance to families of wounded and fallen special forces military personnel and involves services to more than 60,000 troops. One effort intended by the rally as listed on the Glenn Beck website was to motivate a return of US citizens to core values such as integrity, truth, and honor.

There has been plenty of fuel for debate surrounding this event. Beck was heavily criticized for staging this debate on the anniversary of  Martin Luther King's " I Have A Dream " speech and for holding it at the same place at the Lincoln Memorial. Beck publicized the rally as a "nonpolitical" event but was hammered for including conservative spokeswoman Sarah Palin as one of the event's keynote speakers. Other items of debate surrounding the rally included where and how donation money would be dispersed by SOWF. Their website specifically notes that the costs of the event will initially be paid for from proceeds followed by use of funds for intended uses described for affected soldier's families ( including college tuition ) . Beck himself donated $100,000 of his own money to the foundation, and it's unknown if he will receive any of the donated funds. Finally, there has been a huge debate regarding how many people actually attended the rally, with estimates ranging from 87,000 to over a million people. 

How could this event not be political or have political implications and how could it not stir wide-ranging arguments? Not possible, or expected from any one even minimally engaged. People are ticked off right now for a lot of reasons and this event just provided a perfect stage for sound - off, including the patriot group from Vegas and hundreds of analogous groups nationwide. Personally, I think it was an important event, partially because it forced participants and the public to become involved in important issues.

Cheers...

Charles Higgins