Mom and Dad had this recorded when we went over there this weekend and it is a great segment. It is amazing that we can’t find people like this to actually be politicians instead of the people that we have up there.
Jon tries to be honest and serious throughout the entire interview and has some really great points and comments. It makes you wish that there was a way to make people listen to real comments and thoughts rather than the bullshit that is the “News” now.
It reminded me of the other great Jon Stewart segment from Crossfire.
I really think we have Rupert Murdoch – and ourselves – to blame for the state of news today. Murdoch has bought up all of the traditional media outlets, and essentially turned “news” into “entertainment news”, because that is guaranteed to sell. Entertainment requires a short-to-no attention span, and can be easily picked up and left off without any effort, thought or regret. Also, this subtle shift has had the effect of turning the news from the domain of highbrow intellectuals to the level of Joe Q Sixpack. Advertisers in turn line up to pay for entertainment news programs (since they are, after all, out to make money), and this further fuels Murdoch’s point that regular news doesn’t sell and he’s just giving us more of what we want.
Often people treat jury duty as a nuisance to be avoided, voting to be a hassle subordinated to picking up the kids from soccer, and staying abreast of current events to be the privilege of academics and politicians. I think the real issue here then is one of capitalism butting up against the realities of living in a democracy. If shareholder value is the only worthwhile thing, then Murdoch is correct. If corporations do not have any responsibility to the communities and the citizenry they serve, then again, this is the right path to go down. In both cases, the ultimate plan would require dismantling democracy to increase profits – or at least ignore it as a necessary evil.
As with reality TV, I think the solution is obvious – if we stop pandering to it, it’ll eventually cease. But instead, we are addicted to Paris Hiltons courthouse antics, whatever happened on American Idol, when Sayyid is going to get iced on Lost, and who the DC Madam will smear next. Like the middle class family that won the lottery and become indolent and slothful, so too are we in this case. Fat, dumb, and happy with whatever tripe gets dished our collective way.
Jon Stewart wouldn’t make a good politician, as his views represent those of the ‘everyman’. Politicians aren’t really in the business that they’re in to serve the public interest. They serve their own interests and the interests of those in their circle.
You are assuming that things have to stay the way there are. You are right in that Jon Stewart wouldn’t make a good politician as they are now, but that isn’t how they are supposed to be. The first senators and such were there because they wanted to be there to help people. It wasn’t even a full time job.
I think things like that need to return.
At that time though, the administration was full of people with great ideals and honourable intentions. The USA as it was then was blank slate, if you will.
I think that in the current political climate there is no place for Jon Stewart’s (and other like-minded peoples) world view.
Politically things never stay the same. Political ideologies always have a shelf life and they change to suit the needs of a particular society, at a particular time. Unfortunately, if current US foreign policy continues down the path it’s heading, then it will take something drastic to change it’s direction. Jon Stewart’s way of thinking will be only effective in a time when the country really needs to hear a voice like his.
Right now IS the time when we need to have people that are in government that speak the truth. I can’t even imagine what kind of world would exist were we would WANT people in office that cater to special interest groups and corporations. That is what we have now, and that is what is leading us down these stupid paths. We need people in our government that are for people all the time. There is no specific time when you would want people to be honest over another time when you would want them to be crooks.
I’m not suggesting that it’s right or that it’s wrong, just that it is.
People will elect the person that they feel will secure their comfortable standard of living. Unfortunately, because of the way the system works (or doesn’t), it will be the guy with the biggest campaign funds that gets to the White House. In effect, the President represents the interests of those that paid to put him in that position in the first place.
I would love for someone like Jon Stewart to be President, but it just isn’t going to happen. Not with the way things are now. Just look at Bill Clinton and Al Gore. They are two people who have been more effective now, outside of government, than they were when they were in running the country.
If the system was fair and honest, then Joe Average from the ghetto would have an equal chance of sitting in the Oval Office, as the guy who knows a guy at the Halliburton.
Sad, but true.
Ah see now there you have stated what you are really trying to say. That it would be tough for Jon Stewart to win an election (though it could be debated on this point as well). That is different than what you said in your first post which is that Jon Stewart wouldn’t make a good politician.
I would still disagree with your statement about there not being room for people with his political view. There is no one out there right now that is a centrist and it shows in voter turnout and loyalty polls. People are tired of right wing/left wing. Most people are neither of these and some trends show that they are tired of those extremes taking up the limelight.
What I meant is that he wouldn’t be effective as a politician in the current political climate. People that hold his political views are generally the one’s outside of the system. I think that Ralph Nader tried to run with a set of mostly ‘common sense’ policies and look at how successful he was there.
I do agree that there’s no one out there that is a centrist, or at least publicly anyway. I also think that the line between left and right wing is blurred now more than ever. It’s a label that the media place on things relating to politics, as they do with all things, believing that it helps people to understand each sides key issues.
Apathy from the electorate is something that is becoming more widespread, as voters can’t differentiate between the potential candidates.