This past Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall for “Restoring Honor,” a rally to honor service members, hosted by Fox News’ Glenn Beck and featuring an appearance by Sarah Palin.

Those in attendance sported everything from American flag garb to an “Obama is Evil” hat, and representatives of AmericaWillSurvive.org handed out fans emblazoned with “In God We Trust.”

According to Beck’s website, the event was a nonpolitical gathering to honor American service members and “other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth and honor.”

The rally raised more than $5 million for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides scholarships and financial assistance to surviving children or family members of servicemen who have died in battle.

ost of the gathering were supporters and fans of Beck and Palin, but counterprotesters who were critical of the event’s timing and location were also present. The rally coincided with the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, which also took place at the Lincoln Memorial. One group of counterprotesters held a banner saying “King, Dream … Beck, Nightmare.” In interviews, Beck claimed that he did not know the significance of the date when scheduling it, but he also said that he later believed that it was “divine providence.”

Zach Zappone (COL ’13), a contributor to The Hoya, attended the rally and felt that the timing was unfair.

“It felt like they were putting MLK’s legitimacy on their campaign, that they were fighting for the same thing,” Zappone said.

While it was nominally apolitical, some participants contributed to religious undertones of the rally. One woman wore a “Jesus is my Boss” hat, another elderly man from the Pittsburgh tea party slowly processed past the Lincoln memorial holding a crucifix in the air.

“What stood out the most to me, was [that] anytime someone said `in the name of Jesus Christ,’ or `God Bless’ everyone starting cheering ferociously,” Zappone said. “I don’t know a speaker that didn’t mention God or Jesus, and it was all only Christian, no alluding to another religion. He only talked about `Christian values.”

Beck also emphasized the importance of religion over politics in his keynote speech.

“This day is a day that we can start the heart of America again. It has nothing to with politics and everything to do with God,” he said.

Patrick Wyman (MSB ’13) said he was struck by the demographics of the audience.

“It was clear that the rally only attracted a certain type of person in spite of a theoretically universal message. The lowest common denominator [was] those inclined to the tea party or Sarah Palin-brand politics,” Wyman said.

Verbal fights erupted between protesters and counterprotesters on issues such as “Obamacare,” the Arizona immigration law, Martin Luther King and the United States as a Christian nation.

The rally concluded with both the pro-Beck rally participants and the counterprotesters shouting a “USA” chant, fully committed to the belief that their respective positions and causes embodied the principles of the nation. “