Jon Stewart became our opiate: Time to confront Tea Party, 1 percent — without punchlines

[applegrove]

Jon Stewart became our opiate: Time to confront Tea Party, 1 percent — without punchlines

by Steve Almond at Salon

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/11/jon_stewart_became_our_opiate_time_to_confront_tea_party_1_percent_without_punchlines/

"SNIP..................


For years, our desperation to endow Stewart with messianic powers has led us to indulge in this sort of magical thinking. No matter how hard I try not to delude myself, some part of me honestly believes that watching Stewart make mincemeat out of Tucker Carlson or Jim Cramer or the Koch Brothers constitutes political action rather than passive consumption.

The evidence of my delusion is abundant: our free press remains devoted to for-profit stimulation. The bubble of free-market evangelism continues to inflate. Corporations go right on amassing political power.

With a few notable exceptions, the only thing Stewart changes most nights is my mood.

......

For those of us who loyally watched Stewart over the past 15 years, perhaps the time has come for us to feel the anguish he and his staff dependably converted into laughter. How else might we begin to confront the very real existential threats to our country and planet?




.................SNIP"

[Half-Century Man]

1. I agree

Lash out in pain at our cancers.

[TDale313]

2. Humor is a powerful tool.

Stewart was able to articulate- and help us articulate- things the main stream media wouldn't touch because he did it with humor. He skewered public figures who needed it. During the darkest days of the Bush Administration he made us feel a little less isolated and alone in our frustration.

It can't be the only tool, and watching The Daily Show is not a substitute for activism, but imo political satire is vital.

[etherealtruth]

3. +1,000,000

[DanTex]

4. The mid-2000s were the golden age of the Daily Show.

There was a time, 2003-2004, when the whole world had gone mad, and Stewart along with a few others (Paul Krugman is another big one) were the only mainstream media voices talking sanity. This was the time of Freedom Fries and evildoers and you're either with us or the terrorists.

I agree with the article that Jon Stewart hasn't turned into the political force that some of us might have hoped (unrealistically, maybe), especially in recent years. IMO, the show's been declining in quality and relevance for a while, eclipsed in recent years by Colbert. But the service he provided during the Bush years was invaluable.

[applegrove]

5. Oh I don't agree. I think Jon Stewart has been masterful of late. I know for myself that

watching Real Time with Jon Stewart at first is completely mind blowing to start with. And then you get used to having your mind blown. But to anyone starting to watch this past year...it would be mind blowing to them.

[DanTex]

6. Maybe that's true. I've been watching him since 2000/2001

so, yeah, maybe I've just gotten used to it.

I definitely think the correspondents have gotten weaker, though. Back when it was Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, Ed Helms, Rob Cordry, every segment was great. Problem is, the best correspondents went on to other things, and it's been hard finding replacements of the same quality.

Anyway, for me personally, Jon Stewart's greatest gift will always be keeping me sane during the Freedom Fries years.

[applegrove]

7. Oh yes. They were the very best correspondents. I actually thought colbert and helms were the same

'reporter' for about a year, when I first started watching in about 2004 (I don't have a memory for faces) LOL. I remember thinking gosh that guy does a lot of stories.