A Real American.
I’ve watched The Daily Show for most its run, before Jon Stewart even. It was always entertaining, but a few years into his run Stewart had made it into a wellspring of political accountability. With no network mandated affiliations they could show all the mess that is our political system. The miniscule moments of pettiness and underhanded actions that broadcast networks would neither bother showing nor want shown, for fear of political ramifications. Most of the time Stewart was just pointing out the silliness of our system, but at times he would reach that place of frustration that some of us feel.
The frustration of dealing with archaic government systems that have been in place for too long, and social shortcomings we have as a country. I know this is getting heavy(handed), but stick with me for a minute, I promise this isn’t a manifesto. So there’s no misconceptions, I’ve always been a “live and let live” type of person. For that reason I have always voted Democrat. What’s the point of happiness if those around you aren’t living the same? I would gladly vote for a Republican if I felt any of them valued ALL human life and ALL American’s liberties. My grandmother Macy Morse, who spent most of her life reaching out and fighting for people’s civil liberties, always reminded me “It’s not just our right, but our duty to speak out and take (legal) action against corrupted government officials and institutions”. It shouldn’t even be a question in our minds though, no one should accept a miserable existence, or allow others to suffer the same.
Now that we’re in the mood, I turn your attentions back to The Daily Show. There’s an unending list of alumni like Steve Carrell, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Dave Attell, Demetri Martin and of course, the Great Stephen Colbert. All those guys are incredible comedians, but I always liked John Oliver’s segments especially. He has a certain way of cutting deep by simply stating the facts. Maybe it’s some form of natural English passive-aggressiveness or a character a la Colbert. His “exposés” were always pertinent to the social climate, and equally important, he is relentlessly funny. He loves American excess unapologetically, bucking the prim/proper English stereotype. He crushed it when he sat in for Jon one summer, and he’s also had a string of great stand-up shows as well as his own stand-up showcase with dozens of comedians that went on to be respectable stars. He would have been the obvious choice to secede Jon on the news desk, but he was offered his own weekly show on HBO right after his stint.
This has allowed him to zero in on particular follies that plague this nation, attacking student debt, unchecked municipal violations, government surveillance and transgender rights. He whips me into a frenzy sometimes. As he lets the human degeneracy that he and his writers have collected play out it can sting a bit, seeing what goes on unimpeded in our own states. He certainly doesn’t go any easier on England or his beloved European football either, walking FIFA up to the firing range just days before seven FIFA heads were arrested for corruption. I mean, the man went to Russia and interviewed Edward Snowden, that’s next level. He always finds the hilarity in the horrors though.
The most recent episode (2-28-16) focused on Donald “Drumpf” Trump, and I’ll just say that it was enlightening. Anyone who even has the NOTION of voting that man into the White House needs to see this episode.*Don’t believe the hype! *