Jon Stewart, interviewed by Charlie Rose, actually surprised me.
By the time he left Comedy Central, he struck me as getting a bit weary of the shitck. Stephen Colbert seemed more original and energized.
But listening to him now, I was struck by his insights, which are at once obvious and missed by most people, hiding in plain sight.
1/ Oh, the fear: We may have an anti Semite (Stephen Bannon) in the White House now. Well, Stewart asks, "Have you ever listened to the Nixon tapes?" We've had anti Semites in the White House for generations.
2/ We are the same country now we were two weeks ago. The same people who voted for Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa voted for Trump. We have not suddenly become more racist overnight.
3/ Liberals decry characterizing Muslims, Blacks, gays as a monolith, all with the same values, and yet they look at people who voted for Trump and say they are all racists, all deplorable all xenophobic. Trump voters are a mix.
4/ America is an anomaly: A democracy which is multi racial, multi ethnic which works. Friends who work in Europe have always told me, "You think America is racist? We don't hold a candle to Europe." Germany, whose leader, Angela Merkel, has admitted Middle Eastern refugees, is in turmoil from the conflict of cultures and races. Same for England, which has become much more diverse over the past four decades, but that transition has not been a blissful one.
This is a truth which was staring me in the face as I rode on subways in New York City this past week: You could not have designed a more diverse group of citizens if you were the casting agent for "Starship Enterprise." All these people, post election, riding the subways together without a trace of conflict, listening to their I pods, reading their newspapers, focused on their electronic devices. For them, the world had not changed.
Stewart also noted the Republicans have for the past decade insisted government is the problem; government does not work. Of course, they made it not work, but they could always say: See, we were right. Look how broken government is. But now they have all the government. If it does not work, it's going to be pretty hard to blame anyone else.
His remarks are worth listening to.
Here's the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUkv_jPgTeg
Phantom,
ReplyDeleteYes I watched this as well-it was great to see Jon Stewart back on TV-although I must say he looks a good deal older and thinner than last I saw him...He didn't demonize every Trump voter and I was very glad to hear he has Trump voting friends. I do as well and have been asked by more than one Dem friend-why how could I? Answer-very easily-they aren't all out to do the Devil's work..Stewart recognizes the nuances and that things aren't black and white when it comes to political positions..
Maud
M,
ReplyDeleteYes, it's true there are Trump voters who are not Trump acolytes. I know some. How you approach this depends on whether you think we are at war with him and his crowd. I liked Bernie on The News Hour tonight and was reminded why I thought he would have had a better chance against Trump. But, of course, he'll be too old for the next election. Or will he?
Mad Dog