Why Jon Stewart was bad for liberals
I was surprised to read that Jamelle Bouie of Slate will be happy to see Jon Stewart go. As he himself says, Bouie’s a “liberal, college-educated millennial–the almost prototypical viewer” for Stewart’s show, so why’s he so thrilled (his word, not mine) about Stewart’s departure?
According to Bouie, Stewart is too cynical and sneering, and that puts the kibosh on the idea of serious, informed, substantive conversations. I can see his point; I agree that over time Americans (particularly younger ones) have gotten way too knee-jerk cynical, and that put-downs have often become substitutes for argument. That said, I don’t think Stewart has all that much to do with it. In fact, he’s actually got a trifle more substance (and even-handedness, which I value) than some more “serious” pundits, and there are many many other political, societal, and cultural influences that skew younger people towards the ironic and cynical.
But it was this paragraph of Bouie’s that really leaped out at me:
Again, there are times when this basic perspective is vital, when we need someone to bathe our government in light and mockery and challenge the dishonesty, incompetence, and self-seriousness of our leaders and elites. But this approach, which worked wonders during the Bush administration, isn’t always the best one. For liberals in particular, the idea that government is only hypocrisy and dysfunction is self-defeating and nihilistic.
Let’s see if I’ve got this right. Cynicism and mockery are great—in fact, they’re needed—when we’re talking about Republican “leaders and elites” and in particular George W. Bush. When we’re talking the big-government agenda of liberals and the left, it could seriously damage the program to be cynical and mocking. Then it’s time to get all serious and respectful. The cynicism and sneering that Stewart engendered threatened to spill over into mockery of big government itself, and that’s a no-no.
[NOTE: Every now and then—not often, but sometimes—the right was even able to make use of Stewart’s clips because he was occasionally an equal-opportunity mocker. I used video from his show on occasion myself.}
The paragraph you quoted from Bouie was so revealing. Folks of his persuasion think they are so clever; but, so often parade their bias for the world to see. Not that anyone in their narrowly defined universe is capable of seeing the irony or hypocrisy.
Leftist governments must not be mocked or impugned. Got to follow the party line, line by line, word by word, letter by letter, inflection by inflection.
This is why Obama IS NOT FUNNY!
Oldflyer:
Yes, I found it fascinating that he’s so open about it and yet didn’t seem to think that he was being open about it.
It’s a vignette of the left’s overall view of free speech, when it comes to speech they don’t like.
John Stewart, Useful Idiot, outlives usefulness. But not before a whole generation of self assured, self absorbed individuals religiously subscribed to his sophmoric pseudo-intellectual snark as the news.
Liberals shouldn’t complain; he did his part to portray Obama as the cool choice for the educated, and to marginalize anyone who challenged that obvious fact as drooling flat-earthers.
Bouie believes that the left has presumptive mortal gods who should be safe from mocking, shaming, criticism, and other efforts of accountability.
Throw another Progeny… no, baby… clump of cells on the barby, Bouie. Your mortal gods demand sacrifice before they will supply you with another hit of opiates.
Obama himself presents the ideal of cynicism and mockery. His snarky comments and arrogance should be offensive to all Americans, liberals and conservatives alike. From his “high horse” comment to his “Oh, you’re nice enough, Hillary”, in belittling others, he is actually belittling himself and the Presidency.
Victor Davis Hanson has rounded up many Obama “snarks” and defined Obama’s flaw decisively.
Neo nailed it, as I believe Jon Stewart would have said, about Bouie’s selective need for mockery.
Many years ago, a friend who owned a towing company gave me one of the t-shirts he had bought for his drivers. It was one of the -asaurus shirts that was popular about 20 years ago. This one had an orange bronto in jeans, t-shirt, and wafflestompers pulling the cable off the back of his wrecker, with TOWASAURUS under him. Stewart, or course, would be TWERPASAURUS
Good piece by Kyle Smith in the NY Post that’s worth a read: How Jon Stewart turned lies into comedy and brainwashed a generation
The cynicism and sneering that Stewart engendered threatened to spill over into mockery of big government itself, and that’s a no-no.
Handmaidens of evil and entropy, must be destroyed if anything lasting is to be built.