Thank You Jon Stewart

by Duane N. Burghard
©2015

First, I'd like to sincerely thank Jon Stewart for announcing that he's leaving The Daily Show on a Tuesday. Why? Because, while it might appear to some that this announcement was intentionally timed (at least in part) to screw up my blog schedule, it's obvious to me that he must have known how completely lost, confused and conflicted I already was about which essay to post this week, and by making such a historic announcement at this moment, he would force me to literally abandon and throw out everything else (including the truly horrible piece I was trying to write about Valentine's Day) and, right off the cuff, write about this event.

Like many people, my first reaction to the announcement was one of shock, sadness, and frankly concern for the future. Since taking the helm back in 1999, Stewart was the driving force in transforming The Daily Show from an occasionally cute, quirky and comparatively unknown late night show on a barely known cable channel into an internationally renowned and respected, critically "super-acclaimed" and incredibly popular institution of American news, politics and culture. Frankly, it would be very difficult if not impossible to overstate the impact Stewart and his team have had on the show, the Comedy Central network and indeed on the public at large.

I have been watching The Daily Show fairly religiously for well over a decade now. It has always been very good, often hilarious, always entertaining, thoughtful, relevant, television, but I would argue that, over time, it has become far more than that; I believe that The Daily Show has actually been performing a vital service to our Republic.

Over the last 30 years in particular, I have become increasingly convinced that the changes that have been made in our national education policies have been (perhaps even intentionally) systematically breeding out creative and critical thinking skills. America, it seems, has been producing ever increasing numbers of automatons who fail to even desire to adequately question, think critically or act in ways that are necessary to secure the healthy future of a democratic Republic such as ours. In the midst of that ongoing, slow motion tragedy, Jon Stewart has been the front man for a small army that is obviously trying to fight against that trend. Using biting, intelligent satire and a gift for exposing hypocrisy in an amusing way, Stewart (along with his writers and staff) have been teaching young Americans what their schools would not and do not: how to think critically about their government and society and, just as importantly, the importance of doing so. The result? There is no question in my mind that The Daily Show has influenced the opinions and voting habits of millions of Americans in a positive and healthy way. And, of course, they've made us laugh (and sometimes cry) a LOT in that process. I have long said that both Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert should be recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (in fact, if they are not recognized in this way before President Obama leaves office, I will consider it a specific and glaring failure of his Presidency, a shocking and sad inability to appropriately and adequately acknowledge these men and their substantial contribution to America).

And while I'm on the subject of Mr. Colbert (who recently stepped down after an incredibly impressive and socially valuable seven year run of his own), let's not forget that we very likely wouldn't have any idea who he was were it not for The Daily Show, which has shown an impressive ability to regularly reinvent itself and consistently and continually attract incredibly talented people. Early on, I used to worry each time an incredibly bright and funny "correspondent" moved on, but each time the show's supporting cast lost a Steve Carrell, Rob Corddry or Stephen Colbert, there was a John Oliver, Aasif Mandvi or Samantha Bee to take their place.

While the show is certainly best known for its willingness to watchdog our nation's politicians and our hopelessly biased, corporate controlled media, it has hardly been content to confine itself to just those areas. Over time it has fearlessly stepped in to address other issues as well. In fact, there are very few matters of injustice or inequality in our society that haven't been exposed and, when appropriate, skewered by Stewart and his amazing team. In short, The Daily Show has done what our mainstream media has so consistently failed to do in recent decades; it has showed us what we need to see, exposed us to ideas and perspectives that force us to listen and learn and grow from them ... and they have done all of this in a way that makes viewers both laugh AND think. That, is an incredibly rare and important talent and skill, and that is why my first reaction was immediately a sense of loss, followed by sadness and concern about what the absence of such a voice might mean.

There is a song by the rock group Kansas that reminds us that "nothing lasts forever but the Earth and sky," and George Harrison also came to me this morning with the equally true (if depressing) reminder that "all things must pass." One of the most discouraging things about staring down the barrel of my 50th birthday (now just a few months away) has been this growing realization regarding the impermanence of things ... but that realization also serves as a reminder to us (or should) to make sure that we appreciate and enjoy the good things in our lives while they are there. Mr. Stewart has now given the defense of our great nation (and let's be clear, that is absolutely what he has been doing) 16 years of his life, and he has every right to step down in order to spend additional time with his family, explore other avenues of creative expression and/or, well, frankly do whatever the hell else he wants to do. He does not "owe" us another day, another minute. He has done his bit for "king and country" and while we may be sad to see him leave and apprehensive about who will fill the giant hole that will be left when he is gone (which brings us to our new Daily Show segment titled "Who Will Fill Jon Stewart's Gaping Hole On Television?" ... really? That's what we're going with? OK, we'll work on that ...), it seems to me that our first and predominant reaction to the announcement of his departure should be one of gratitude.

So I hope that everyone who reads this essay will join me in saying thank you to Mr. Stewart for all that he has done to inform, entertain and in so many ways improve the quality of the dialog in our society for so many years. I further hope that anyone who sees his departure as a reason to fear for the future because of the absence of his voice, to instead view it as a call to action, an opportunity for us to collectively help fill the void left after his exit. The Daily Show has presented a great example for us to follow. It has encouraged a more active and engaged populace, one that exercises its responsibility to monitor and check its elected officials ... and again, it has done so in a way that has often made us laugh, that brought humor and light to issues of importance and sadness.

Finally, I shouldn't hesitate to add that it's not over yet. In fact, as I type this sentence, somewhere in New York City, Mr. Stewart is literally on stage taping tonight's episode of The Daily Show. We have several months yet to soak in, learn and draw strength from all the ideas and all the laughter and joy yet to come. And can you imagine the send off? Personally, I'm hoping EVERYONE comes back for those last shows. I don't care about the celebrities, I care about the cast. The chance to see Rob Corddry report on some piece of foreign policy goofiness (the "Tae-Po-Dong Missile" segment remains one of the more inappropriate and yet hysterical pieces of TV I've ever seen), or to see Stephen Colbert tell us about "This Week In God" one more time, or to see Wyatt Cenac looking at the camera in exasperation as he deals with some issue of injustice or just absurd stupidity ... the show would have to last hours, but it would be one for all of time.

That day, and that final show are coming. All things have their time and the wonderful time we have had to enjoy The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is ending soon. Enjoy it, be grateful for it, say thank you, and if it meant something to you as it did to me, then don't allow the kind of critical thinking and desire for reason that was so core to what the show was about to end. The mission of the show, to entertain and make our nation and the world a better place, is everyone's mission now ... as in fact it always was.

See you next week.