Disease of Conceit
Tonight, I got to see a good bit of television. On the Daily Show, Jon Stewart had author Bernard Goldberg as a guest and good-god did he give Goldberg a hard time. Goldberg had just written a book entitled "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America." Jon Stewart ripped him a new one. First off, he pointed out that only 3 conservatives are on the list, while many a liberal where included. Goldberg insinuated that Hollywood was the root of all evil. Jon Stewart pointed out that Hollywood and Washington were pretty much the same thing, the only difference being that Washington had real power while Hollywood just made moving pictures.
A favorite quote:
Goldberg: "Once upon a time, a drunk in a bar would not have said the F-word [...] now, a guy like Chevy Chase can get into a grand gala with people in tuxedos and he can call the president a dumbass."
Stewart: "Once upon a time, Thomas Jefferson fucked slaves"
Which is the root of Stewart's argument: that concentrating on the decline of civility and formality distracts from real issues, and that while those cultural traits have declined great advances have been in concrete matters at the same time.
I've noticed that since the Daily Show has moved to their new set, Mr Stewart has been much more dour in his interviews, as though the new digs have freed him from the need to make a joke every ninety seconds. It works for him though. This last interview with Goldberg was the best thing I've seen since Jon Stewart went on crossfire. However, I can't seem to find a clip of it... yet.
Give it time.