People generally don't like it when politicians attempt humour, or when comedians speak seriously, because most often they fail. But there is another reason. Plato said that in the just city everyone knows his job and does it well. Pilots can't suddenly become surgeons overnight because their training as pilots is only fit for their profession. It is better both for the individual and for society if the pilot masters his craft because then society would have more experienced pilots to fly more planes in the air, and the pilots themselves would be better paid if they made it their career.
Keeping Plato's lesson in mind, I understand the criticism by some that comics like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert shouldn't tell jokes one night, and lead a huge rally on sacred political ground the following day. But this criticism is not valid because what Plato said was not true for everybody, and sometimes it is better for society, especially in volatile times, if individuals with no experience in politics step into the political arena and assume a new role in the community.
So it was entirely right, and even necessary, for Stewart and Colbert to hold a rally in Washington. They are the light bearers of reason and common sense during the most trying time in world history. That's right. Two comedians. But they are not just comedians. They are also citizens. The Daily Show writers make wisecracking jokes about political figures and the politicized 24/7 cable media every night that is similar to the style of Bill Hicks and George Carlin, but more gentle, and subtle. There is hardly any anger displayed by Stewart and Colbert, even though there are plenty of reasons to be angry every night, and that's because they know anger will further polarize America, and make things worse. What they are doing is not inflaming, but cooling down tensions. Their humour is subversive. In a television age when almost all shows offer only entertainment, and the news presents little perspective or factual information, their shows inform and entertain the audience at the same time. And it is pissing off the establishment in Washington and the charlatans in the media that Stewart and Colbert have so much cultural capital that they can help harvest real change, and genuine reforms in the country.
We live in a strange era. If we didn't know it before Stewart/Colbert's rally, we certainly know it now. And it's stranger than you, and I can possibly realize. When up is down, and political leaders in almost all nations, but especially in America, are a complete joke, then it is natural and fitting for a comic to speak candidly on the Washington Mall in Washington D.C. in front of 200,000 people just three days before a huge election.
Stewart gave a 12 minute speech near the end of the rally that President Obama can't possibly give, ever. Some people lament the fact that it took a comedian to say "we live now in hard times, not end times" but I think this is a beautiful commentary on our sad age. Stewart's humanity and courageous leadership is a reminder to everyone in the world that America still contains great men who are willing to lead and help fix the country's problems, not just follow and prolong the inevitable.
In his speech, Stewart criticized the media and Washington in glaring terms, but what he said can't be classified as political. He referred to religious imagery by saying "Because we know, instinctively, as a people, that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is there will always be darkness, and sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the promised land," but he was not making any religious statements. It was not a political speech, or a religious speech, but a patriotic speech. He spoke not as a democrat, or a republican; not as a liberal, or a libertarian, but as a reform-minded patriot. And he spoke from the heart, which made the speech memorable. As Goethe said; “What is uttered from the heart alone, Will win the hearts of others to your own.”
I deeply admire Jon Stewart. Before his speech on Saturday, he had my attention, but afterward, he won my heart. That may sound corny, but it is the truth. The world became less dark after he said those words. The Daily Show is no longer just another television show. I don't know what it is exactly, but it is something more.
