Stewart/Colbert ’08 bashers, I’m putting you on notice.
A quick glance at my Facebook profile will reveal what regular readers of my column have likely already surmised: I am an ardent supporter of the Stewart/Colbert ’08 phenomenon.
While some think that supporters of the ticket are deluded and need to be more serious about ‘real’ politics, I think that, like the shows themselves, the ideas behind Stewart/Colbert ticket run deeper than they first appear.
I belong to no political party, but I will always be a West Wing Democrat.
There are thousands, perhaps millions of us out there who, placing our hands in our pockets and looking off into the distance with steadfast resolve, state, “Josiah Bartlet will always be my President.” Why?
Why would a fictional president have such a following? Simple. Politics in the nonfiction America suck.
It’s not like me to be so casually dismissive; I tend to see many sides to all issues, but not this time. Politics in America suck.
We have no leaders; we have self-serving, egotistical gasbags who couldn’t find the pulse of the American people with a medical textbook and a stethoscope.
We have a Speaker of the House who knew about improper relationships between Congressmen and pages and said nothing.
We have Democrats who, years into an imperialist war going nowhere, could not manage to win a presidential election because Republicans are so big, mean and scary.
Last week I wrote a column on torture because that issue is up for debate now.
I had to talk about how denying basic human rights is a bad thing. In America.
So I weep because if you care about politics and pay attention to it for any length of time, that is what you are often forced to do.
And after I am done weeping, I put in a DVD of The West Wing Season 3, and I watch how politics in this country should be.
Those who pay any attention to our democratic process may like one candidate better than others, but there are no real heroes in American politics today.
Most people in my generation have never been riveted or inspired by a politician; we have never seen one we wanted to emulate.
Report after report states that there continues to be a decline in the numbers of students seeking jobs in public service, and volunteering is declining.
This might just be the reason why.
And so one day we are flipping through the channels and see a miracle: a political speech that simultaneously glues us to our chairs and makes us stand up and cheer.
We see Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, full of vitriol and truth, speaking with a passion never before seen on C-SPAN.
We see Jon Stewart breaking down before the cameras on his first show following 9/11, full of the raw, empassioned honesty that we as a people so needed but no politician could manage.
We see him on Crossfire, demanding that the media stand up and become accountable for their failure to fulfill their role as the Fourth Estate. But some people think supporters of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert need to learn the place of these social commentators.
This just in… everyone belongs in the political arena. No one should be excluded, least of all those who obviously have so much to contribute.
Stewart said in a recent interview that, “Nothing says ‘I am ashamed of…my government’ more than Stewart/Colbert ’08.”
I tend to agree with him.
We need genuine leadership, and as the politicking of the midterms hits its apex, I am not especially hopeful for the next two years.
So please, do not make a mockery of my escape.
Give me a reason to have hope for the future.
Instead of jeering at an obviously fanciful presidential ticket, do your part to create a passionate political environment that eliminates the need for it in the first place.
Send comments to Jason Lamb at [email protected]
Nick Hurm is an alumni of the University and can be reached at [email protected]
Send comments to Jason Lamb at [email protected]
ick Hurm is an alumni of the University and can be reached at [email protected]
