A New Hero (Maybe)
Published 4 June 2005
Hi! You've stumbled upon a blog post by a guy named Ryan. I'm not that guy anymore, but I've left his posts around because cool URIs don't change and to remind me how much I've learned and grown over time.
Ryan was a well-meaning but naïve and priviledged person. His views don't necessarily represent the views of anyone.
I believe I have a new hero. Well, maybe. And not new, really either. Ok let me start over.
Jon Stewart. Wow. Sadly, the only source of news I trust (aside from NPR). In one short spot, he made a passionate plea to mainstream media to stop hurting America and called Tucker Carleson a dick (but a smart one, to be fair). My hemming and hawing above was based solely on whether or not he writes his own material, which after some thought doesn't matter.
Stewart has found, through comedy, a way to do what mosts journalists are too afraid, most politicians too unwilling, and most bloggers have been ignored at for some time. Watching The Daily Show almost…well…daily, I wanted America (The Book) as soon as I heard about it. As my sitting-undisturbed time amounts to way less than my moving-around time, I went instead with an iPod-friendly version from Audible.
I don't usually go for abridged works, and one review in particular stuck in my mind:
- Subject
- Funny, despite the content…
- Reviewer:
- William, from Linwood, NJ, USA
- Date:
- May 13, 2005
Despite his obvious hatred of the country, Jon Stewart and company from the Daily Show deliver an, at times, fall-out-of-the-chair funny examination of American politics. If you can put out of your mind the obvious liberal/socialist bias and anger, the book is quite enjoyable. Not lost on me, was the irony of Stewart's attempt to dispute the allegation that the media is a left-leaning, Republican-hating institution, while delivering left-leaning, Republican-hating diatribe after diatribe.
…
I recommend listening to the book while trying to block out the normal reaction, which for most Americans would hopefully be to defend our country against this hilarious assault.
The more I listen to him, the more I find William's first clause to be incorrect. Stewart writes and performs not out of hatred, but a deep love and sadness over into what our country has desolved. His irony
sadly ignores the fact, as did Tucker Carleson, that he is not part of the news media. Nor is The Onion or Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Perhaps it's a tribute to his ability—maybe he's just too good at what he does that America forgets he airs on a network of such journalistic prowess as South Park and Drawn Together.
His rage at the decline of American politics is evident in this excerpt from his Audiobook, which for its inclusion I will probably be added to some Internet smut database, is beautiful nonetheless:
A free and independant press is essential to the health of a functioning democracy, serves to inform the public on matters relevant to its well being. Why they've stopped doing that is a mystery. I mean, three-hundred camera crews outside of a courthouse to see what Kobe Bryant is wearing when the judge sets his hearing date while false information used to send our country to war goes unchecked—what the fuck happened? You spineless cowards in the press have finally gone to far: you have violated a trust.
“Was the President successful in conving the country?” Who gives a shit? Why not tell us if what he said was true?
And the excuses—my god—the excuses: “Hey, we just give the people what they want. What can we do, this administration is secretive…uh…uh…but the last season of Friends is news.”
The unmitigated gall of these weak-willed—you're supposed to be helping us, you indecent piles of shit—I…Fuck it, just fuck it!
And that about sums it up. I couldn't say it better. But now that he's pointed out the problem, what about the solution?
…and now I have a hero. Plus, he makes movies with Adam Sandler, which immediate adds points on some peoples' lists…