This ancient thinker goes on to say that keeping one's stylus silenced is so difficult when one lives in such an evil place - and I agree. One of my many vices is sitting on the sideline and criticizing a world I feel removed from. I am an aspiring satirist. For many years I've been receiving my news from Jon Stewart, comedian, satirist, and host of the Daily Show on Comedy Central. Through the veil of humor, Stewart is capable of illuminating many truths. Sometimes he's so good at his job that he gets other, weaker shows canceled, like Crossfire, a CNN program that featured Tucker Carlson doing what he does best: Wearing a bow-tie, and being a dick.
Now, Jon Stewart is getting moderately, seriously moderate. He (along with pure comedian/satirist Stephen Colbert) are holding The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington D.C this Saturday. What is being referred to as "The Million Moderate March" is supposed to be a day of fun, relaxation, and political skewering of all available targets. But some believe that Stewart's rally shouldn't be held at all. Check out this article from Slate magazine.
What the article suggests is that liberals will flock to the event and ignore going to the polls to vote for Democrats. I don't think this is inaccurate (maybe a bit exaggerated), but I think that people are really missing the point here. Yes, I believe that Jon Stewart is a passionate liberal, but he is ultimately a satirist, not a politician. He knows that. He understands that the system is tragically flawed and fixable, but that people will not muster up the courage to do so. His march is purely symbolic and more importantly, intentionally unimportant within the political spectrum. Jon Stewart does not believe that he will change the world with a rally, so why are his critics suggesting he does?
Satire is a vice: Something that makes me feel good, but doesn't help much. But I keep it in check, and it's nice to be rewarded with an event of like-minded, fun-loving, kind-hearted people enjoying a nice day in the park.
