I couldn’t even watch that full clip. Talk about a fall from grace. I watched him on the Daily Show as well back in the day but I’ve lost all respect for Stewart. I’d say I have classic liberal & conservative beliefs but the Overton Window has shifted so far that I’m probably considered “far-right” by todays standards. Peoples politics evolve over time organically but the issue is with celebrities & others like him is it’s plastic. They’ve gone along to get along and to shift so radically into Cultural Marxism is a desperate attempt to stay relevant within the liberal (illiberal really) space. They’ve discarded ethics, morals & values for money, acceptance and notoriety. The Neo-Left isn’t sympathetic or empathetic, they don’t care about equality, they don’t care about free speech or the constitution for that matter. What they want is an authoritarian one party system with a monopoly on information.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
I thought maybe Stewart was about to go rogue after his Wuhan questions on Colbert's show a while back. I guess the woke Luca Brasi got to him after all! But Sullivan is not blameless here. I *loathe* how he has refused to see the broad populist MAGA movement as anything but a threat. That was intellectual snobbery at its finest. He still clings to the illusion that the liberal left is the good guy, the smart guy, the grown up. This failure is catastrophic because it destroys all of his credibility. Ditto Sam Harris. Neither has had the balls to question the shibboleths of their base, but that won't save them from the woke mafia.
Sullivan has criticized Trump and Trumpism extensively. He supported Biden for POTUS. Your comment is an example of one of the by now classics of the Critical Left (e.g. "woke"): Smear someone for allegedly not condemning vigorously and frequently enough a particular "Bad Guy" or "Bad Thing".
"Sullivan is not blameless here. I *loathe* how he has refused to see the broad populist MAGA movement as anything but a threat." Perhaps it is the use of "refused" and "anything but" that is creating a double negative that is unclear? I would translate "Tom refuses to see the snake as anything but a threat" to "Tom sees the snake as a threat and nothing else." (In other words Tom views that snake only as a threat and does not consider positive things about the snake such as its importance in the ecosystem.) So if you loathe that "Tom refuses to see the snake as anything but a threat" you disagree that the snake is only a threat.
Yes, I think many of us have been on a journey of discovery over the years. I see Lorenz has even taken to blame MSNBC for poorly handling her interview too!
Your opening paragraph confirms what I knew and feared: Entire generations turning to comedy shows for information where rhetorical flourish trumps facts and analysis and everything has to have a joke wrapped around it. Shot through with a PoMo vibe, where a well-timed eye roll combined with a feeling of being on the inside of an ironic statement makes the audience self-satisfied.
It's true. It's not good. It's not what we would wish for. But it is now our reality. One caveat: the actual news is sometimes so clownish that literal clownery may be preferable.
I couldn’t even watch that full clip. Talk about a fall from grace. I watched him on the Daily Show as well back in the day but I’ve lost all respect for Stewart. I’d say I have classic liberal & conservative beliefs but the Overton Window has shifted so far that I’m probably considered “far-right” by todays standards. Peoples politics evolve over time organically but the issue is with celebrities & others like him is it’s plastic. They’ve gone along to get along and to shift so radically into Cultural Marxism is a desperate attempt to stay relevant within the liberal (illiberal really) space. They’ve discarded ethics, morals & values for money, acceptance and notoriety. The Neo-Left isn’t sympathetic or empathetic, they don’t care about equality, they don’t care about free speech or the constitution for that matter. What they want is an authoritarian one party system with a monopoly on information.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
George Orwell, 1984
Yes, the clip was awful. Stewart failed his guests, failed his public, and failed his network. I hope he sees it for what it was.
I thought maybe Stewart was about to go rogue after his Wuhan questions on Colbert's show a while back. I guess the woke Luca Brasi got to him after all! But Sullivan is not blameless here. I *loathe* how he has refused to see the broad populist MAGA movement as anything but a threat. That was intellectual snobbery at its finest. He still clings to the illusion that the liberal left is the good guy, the smart guy, the grown up. This failure is catastrophic because it destroys all of his credibility. Ditto Sam Harris. Neither has had the balls to question the shibboleths of their base, but that won't save them from the woke mafia.
That was such a great moment. I thought to myself "He's back!" But alas...
Sullivan has criticized Trump and Trumpism extensively. He supported Biden for POTUS. Your comment is an example of one of the by now classics of the Critical Left (e.g. "woke"): Smear someone for allegedly not condemning vigorously and frequently enough a particular "Bad Guy" or "Bad Thing".
You literally could not have misunderstood my position more.
"Sullivan is not blameless here. I *loathe* how he has refused to see the broad populist MAGA movement as anything but a threat." Perhaps it is the use of "refused" and "anything but" that is creating a double negative that is unclear? I would translate "Tom refuses to see the snake as anything but a threat" to "Tom sees the snake as a threat and nothing else." (In other words Tom views that snake only as a threat and does not consider positive things about the snake such as its importance in the ecosystem.) So if you loathe that "Tom refuses to see the snake as anything but a threat" you disagree that the snake is only a threat.
OK, Groomhilda
Great article.
Thanks John - I was a fan of Stewart for so many years that it was a hard thing to write.
Yes, I think many of us have been on a journey of discovery over the years. I see Lorenz has even taken to blame MSNBC for poorly handling her interview too!
Your opening paragraph confirms what I knew and feared: Entire generations turning to comedy shows for information where rhetorical flourish trumps facts and analysis and everything has to have a joke wrapped around it. Shot through with a PoMo vibe, where a well-timed eye roll combined with a feeling of being on the inside of an ironic statement makes the audience self-satisfied.
It's true. It's not good. It's not what we would wish for. But it is now our reality. One caveat: the actual news is sometimes so clownish that literal clownery may be preferable.