I wonder when I last listened to a comedian. It’s been years, I think. Maybe I haven’t heard of the right comedians, the comedians for me, that is. George Carlin is no longer, and I know of no one who has taken his place.
Most comedians I stumble across on the rare occasions when I turn on my TV are just “silly”; to my mind at least. Not that I don’t appreciate silliness. I have a silly dog, and she makes me laugh out loud even in public places. I don’t need silly comedians who are unable to make me laugh even alone in the shower.
But today I happened, by pure accident, to listen to … No, let me explain. I was reading Jeffrey Sachs, “Stop Netanyahu Before He Gets Us All Killed” and suddenly the scene shifted – I must have done something – at any rate, suddenly, I was faced with John Steward, and John Steward was screaming. That definitely caught my attention.
So I listened to him for a while. And I was able to laugh! Yes! Because he was screaming and targeting what I abhor, warmongering.. In my mind, I thanked him.
I leave it there, for now, not because I believe John Steward deserves the last word – I really know nothing about him – but because ridicule is so powerful a weapon. In geopolitics, the weapon of ridicule has been all but forgotten.