John Stewart Made it OK To Go All in Against Power

I’m not a good enough writer to do adequate justice to John Stewart’s career on The Daily Show as he walks away this week.  Others can weigh in on how significant he has been to late night comedy and the form of satire in general (hint: it was significant).

But, I will add my two cents for what he meant to me and people like me.

You see, if you are center-left, but pretty compliant and obedient in your everyday life, you reserve a little bit of skepticism regarding the ineptitude and evilness of powerful people and institutions.  There is some small but durable piece of your mind that stops the rest of you from complete immersion into the realm of utter failure.

That small sliver of doubt says things like:

·         “OK, what the president just said is pretty dumb, but he really isn’t that stupid.  He’s the president after all!

·         Or: “OK, that network is really pandering to viewers, but they aren’t going to outright lie about the facts.”

·         Or, “I must have missed some part of the story, because no politician is dumb enough to say one thing at 9 a.m. and completely contradict himself at 6 p.m. on the same day.”

But John Stewart helped slay that small part of the brain and allowed us to go all-in on the reality that yes, many politicians, reporters, news organizations, government bureaucrats, etc. are and will always be stupid, lazy, corrupt, and bat-shit crazy.  End of story, no need for nuance and explanation. John and the staff of the Daily Show through great research, great wit and great writing shined a bright light on the obvious and allowed us to jump in and bathe in its simple truth.

The simple truth?  Yes, President Bush was dumb and lazy and would do anything his handlers told him to do. Yes, Fox News is not a news organization; it is a tool of very rich people to mold stupid, old white people through fear and racism into a political force that would move an agenda. Yes, politicians are mean and petty and are only interested in staying in office. Yes, we the American public are lazy and fat and only able to focus our attention on the brightest and shiniest object glittering in front of us.

Stewart and the Daily Show emphatically illustrated that our first impressions were right on. They showed us that we didn’t need to temper our anger, angst and apprehension. We need not bother with reservation or caution. The idiots in charge are indeed the idiots in charge.

And the final and immortal brilliance of Stewart and his show? He could still make us laugh in the face of this very disturbing truth.

Vaya con dios John.