Thursday, May 12, 2011

The Daily Show vs Fox News. The slippery slope of choosing one over the other

I made an alarming observation today.  It's something that's been mulling around in the back of my mind since Obama's campaign really ramped up in '08.  We've been seeing an "us versus them" division between Americans for most of our history, but over the past few years it has really come to a head.  Republicans are penny pinching, war-mongering, racist religious zealots OR Democrats are weak-wristed, financially irresponsible, indecisive heathens.  To be an American who is at all involved in political discourse, you are really expected to choose one of the above statements and violently defend it, labeling anyone on the other side as ignorant, selfish and, frankly, downright evil.

Nowhere do I see this division more plainly than in the public rivalry of Fox News vs The Daily Show.  Now there's a big difference between the two.  The Daily Show is meant to be a comedic and sarcastic look at the world around us.  However many young "liberal" Americans takes their news from The Daily Show and enjoy seeing people like Glen Beck and Sean Hannity torn a new one by John Stewart's attentive wit while simultaneously learning about the issues of the day.

One thing Fox News is unapologetically guilty of is providing a soapbox for angry Republicans to voice their opposition to Obama and the Democrats, not to mention the "naive" young Americans who support Obama.  They are a news network without objectivity.  They have an opinion and their viewers like it that way.  They have a position; and though they labeled themselves fair and balanced, they really make very little attempt at backing those labels up, unless you consider Glenn Beck taking thirty minutes to angrily talk about how much he hates the show Glee "fair" and "balanced".

Both sides wear their opinions with pride.  Each believes that the other is fundamentally wrong, and that the American people are wise enough to know that their side is the correct one.  How can I compare a news network to a comedy show?  Because Fox News simply has no direct opposite.  Regardless of what some people mystifyingly read into CNN or MSNBC, there is no dedicated "Democrat" news network.  Mostly because Democratic talking heads (Al Franken, James Carville, etc) are simply not as ratings worthy (dare I say charismatic?) and outspoken as their Republican counterparts.  There's not a public demand for a 24 hour Democrat channel.  You know why?

Because the liberal political base in America is largely young.  The liberal American base doesn't park themselves in front of CNN, talk radio, or any other news outlet to hear their opinions validated.  No, they turn on Comedy Central, or, more realistically these days, they views clips online of...here we are now...The Daily Show.  If John Stewart and Steven Colbert had a news network, it might be a different story, but being comedians, they do not.

Now I am an adamant centrist.  I'm a fiscal conservative and social liberal.  And since I'm honest with myself, that often puts me at odds with both sides in any given debate; simply because the two are not allowed to meet in the middle under our current political climate.  Agreeing with a Democrat alienates a Republican's "Joe everyman" fan-base.  Agreeing with a Republican alienates a Democrat's "young, hip, evironmentally conscious" fan-base.  Therefore, never the twain shall meet and never shall we get any damn thing done in Congress until one of the two sides completely takes over the other.

Centrist though I am, I'm also young.  I am environmentally aware and socially accepting and unconcerned with the apparent limitations of religion.  Oh, and I also spend a lot of time online.  That puts me right in the target market for The Daily Show.  So yes, I do watch The Daily Show more than Fox News.  I also listen to conservative radio, but that's besides the point.

The point is, Daily Show viewers, in my observations, seem to feel that they are above and beyond that division in American politics.  It's a comedy show, right?  And yet these viewers feel certain ways and have certain opinions just as strongly as the average Fox News viewer.  We laugh along at John Stewart and Steven Colbert on the Colbert Report, but what's more than that, while we're laughing, we're also saying, "that's funny because that's exactly how I feel!".

That's exactly how I feel.  It's the same sentiment as a Fox News viewer, a notion the average Daily Show viewer would find abhorrent.  You can't compare a young, socially informed, educated person to an ignorant, religiously blinded, socially intolerant person, can you?

The truth is, with either show, we often don't even think about the issues at hand until either John Stewart or Bill O'Reily bring them up.  At which point we say to ourselves, "Wow.  He's convincing and he has similar views as me.  Therefore I feel that way too!", completely ignoring the fact that the most worry we had on our plate before listening to this person was whether or not to order pizza or chinese that night.  We believe people that tell us things when they tell them to us in a convincing, entertaining manner.  And both sides are guilty of it.

The worst thing a person can do is allow social issues and politics to be spoon-fed to them, whether Republican or Democrat.  Your opinions of those issues should be formed from your experience of the world around you.  By simply choosing to define your views based on the loudest voice in the room (whether it be Bill O'Reily or your minister at church) or the prettiest face on the television (whether it be John Stewart or Johnny Depp), you're doing yourself a great disservice.  You want to worry about more than what to have for dinner at night, don't you?  You want to change the world.  Deep down in your core, whether you admit it to yourself or not, everybody does.

Moral of this particular story is, always be aware of what you're feeling and why you're feeling it.  When you agree with something on The Daily Show, don't just laugh, say he's right, and go back to playing World of Warcraft.  Think about why you formed that opinion.  Think about what it means to you and what you mean to do about it.  To the conservatives, do the same when you watch Bill O'Reily or Sean Hannity.  Think about what the man has just said.  Think about whether or not your life experience conforms to his opinion.  Think about whether or not you want the world to be painted in the same colors O'Reily or Hannity does.

Never, ever believe that you have to choose one over the other, regardless of your opinions.  A wise individual listens equally to all sides of an argument before deciding on which side he or she lies.  Be a wise individual.  Don't be a drone of the right or a sheep of the left.  Be yourself.  Believe what you believe.  And most importantly of all, know why you believe it.

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