Jon Stewart: All is Forgiven
Exactly one year ago, I wrote a blog entitled “Daaaamn you, Jon Stewart!” (Click to read.)
I've watched Jon Stewart’s Daily Show regularly for years and his sexism and racism have pissed me off as much as his wit around being Jewish and his incisive political barbs have cracked me up. Last January I finally went public with my anger when Jon Stewart broke the writers’ strike.
This week, all is forgiven. Stewart has always taken a practical, common sense view of the situation in Israel and Palestine - something we need in these dire times. The mainstream media report that over 3,000 Palestinians have been injured and over 700 Gazans have been killed in the last 13 days, as well as 10 Israelis, some of them from their own “friendly fire”. Here’s what the UN and physicians on the ground say:
“Doctors in Gaza have also confirmed the report by The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), saying that the main victims of Israeli strikes are civilians, many of whom are women and children. Thus far, over 200 children have been killed in Gaza.
So it is amazing that Stewart can make us laugh about the illogic of the arguments of those who support Israel’s politically-motivated assault on Gaza. Check out the six minute clip below that he calls “Strip Maul”.
Thanks for the laughs, Sue. Jon Stewart, like you, manages to combine humor with the tragic events of the day.
I was watching some of the news shows on PBS last nite and it's amazing how when reviewing the truly terrible events of 2008, nearly every TV guest gave an embarrassed laugh about them. They certainly didn't laugh about them at the time (torture, reigning in of constitutional rights, etc) but in hindsight, our human condition copes by having a sense of humor.
If I remember correctly from my days as a psych student, Freud said that "sublimation" (such as art or humor) is the highest form of coping with life's inevitable disasters.
He who laughs first is blessed, I guess.
Bless you, Sue!
Ruth Z Deming wishing you a Happy New Year!
Posted by: Ruth Z Deming | 10 January 2009 at 15:18