reply to post by JMasters
Here is the actual survey in case anyone wants to see the details.
people-press.org...
I only recently saw the Cramer interview Jon did. I have to say, it was fantastic. It is a shame when the only real journalism is to be found on
Comedy Central, but it is what it is. I hope he does more like that, though I doubt he will get the opportunity. I am willing to bet that after
seeing that, people will think twice about going on his show if their hands are too dirty.
And for those who are claiming that the fact that it is a comedy show, on Comedy Central, means that he cannot be telling the truth, I would say to
you 1) you must not have seen the show, 2) if you did you must score very low on interpreting human interactions emotionally 3) you dont understand
how comedy works at all.
en.wikipedia.org...
In societies where freedom of speech was not recognized as a right, the court jester - precisely because anything he said was by definition "a
jest" and "the uttering of a fool" - could speak frankly on controversial issues[2] in a way in which anyone else would have been severely punished
for, and monarchs understood the usefulness of having such a person at their side.[2] Still, even the jester was not entirely immune from punishment,
and he needed to walk a thin line and exercise careful judgment in how far he might go - which required him to be far from a "fool" in the modern
sense.
Jesters could also give bad news to the King that no-one else would dare deliver. The best example of this is in 1340 when the French fleet was
destroyed at the Battle of Sluys by the English. Phillippe VI's jester told him the English sailors: "Don't even have the guts to jump into the
water like our brave French."[3]
Comedians dont have to "lie." The idea that comedy is "false" or "untrue" is an odd interpretation of the role of humor. Humor often exists to
make truths we are uncomfortable with more palatable. Such as light ribbing about a fight we may have had, or some irrational behavior we may have
engaged in.
Jon Stewart gets away with a higher degree of honesty about the ridiculousness of our political and economic system because this honesty is wrapped in
humor, rather than a diatribe against the system. If he employed the latter technique, he would be off the air in a heartbeat. You are allowed to
bash one side or the other on television, but you are not allowed to expose the ridiculousness of the system itself. Except for a laugh.