Maybe for some, it is easy to dismiss Jon Stewart as just being a comedian. Maybe some people feel that his former gig as the host of a late-night cable talk show renders Stewart irrelevant. Maybe some even think that his profanity-spattered monologues warrant shunning him as crass or inappropriate. Those people just don’t get Jon Stewart, and they just don’t get what real passion and intellect look and sound like. This man is no foul-mouthed, C-grade celebrity looking for cheap publicity.
Jon Stewart addressed members of Congress today on the issue of support for the first responders of 9/11. He has become a powerful advocate on behalf of the firefighters, police officers, and other emergency personnel that went into those horrible situations. Many of those heroes (I don’t use that word lightly.) died in the immediate aftermath of those attacks. Many more have died in the eighteen years since from diseases borne out of the toxic conditions associated with the rescue and recovery efforts. Jon Stewart fights valiantly on their behalf.
While I admire and applaud his determination in his fight for these people, that is not what is foremost on my mind. I certainly respect his cause, but what moves me most is the manner in which he does it. Jon Stewart is highly intelligent. He is passionate and articulate. Most importantly, he does not hide those traits when he pleads his case, whether it is in an interview on television or in front of Congress. He thinks deeply, and he uses powerfully effective words to convey those thoughts.
It has become the fashion, over the years, to lower the standards of our public discourse. I have a vomit-reflex at the phrase “dumbing down”, but that basic idea has taken root under the guise of being “plainspoken”. It has come into form among many political and social types whose style choice for commentary is reduced to point-and-grunt noises and mono-syllabic verbiage reminiscent of a “Dick & Jane” storybook. Maybe the crude informality of “working class” simple-talk is appropriate and effective in some cases, but there are times when it is good to hear from someone who can elevate the art of language to a higher plane. Jon Stewart does that. He did it today in Congress. I am stirred by the strength of his commitment to his cause, but I am moved to tears by the eloquence and rarity of his skill at expressing his point of view.
I miss having people of influence be able to accurately convey their messages with the hues and shading and nuance that command of the language can provide. I’m tired of those whose language skills and choices equate to the 8-box of crayons. I hunger for those who can have at their command something along the lines of the 64-box, or at least the 48-box. I know that not everyone can speak or write in the manner of Walt Whitman, or even Jon Stewart, but is is too much to ask that our leaders be able to at least speak in full sentences? I hope Jon Stewart gets the financial aid he seeks for the 9/11 first responders, and I also hope his example of passion and intelligence can be a model for the leaders upon whom we all must depend. Whatever the cause or issue, it is important to keep in mind that brilliance is nothing to be afraid of, and ignorance is nothing to be celebrated.
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