I am pretty sure that you and most of your followers are too young to remember the Smother Brothers TV show, but I do! It was great...lots of political satire and anti Vietnam stuff. That was in the era of multi-performer shows that are no longer affordable. CBS wanted it toned down, which was absurd; it was dead on target, and the Smother Brothers refused to capitulate. Nor did Joan Baez, the folk singer, when she was a guest on the show and paid tribute to her brother who was in jail for not allowing himself to be drafted into a war started on a false pretense -- that the Viet Cong posed an imminent threat to America (sound familiar?) and that if they succeeded communism would rapidly spread across the globe -- it was called the domino effect and was absolute nonsense. But the show, best satire of its time on American TV, was cancelled. As a Canadian I thought the Vietnam war was absurd even if the trigger, the Gulf of Tonkin incident were actual, which it was not.
Fast forward a couple of decades and I was on one of my many visits to Washington D.C. and I visited the Vietnam Memorial wall, or whatever it's called...a vast stretch of polished black stone with the names of all the fallen (that means killed) American service people etched into it, none of whom needed to die in the defense of America.
And that only told a fraction of what happened, with no people in the actual country invaded mentioned, and I won't get into the animals, wild and domestic, killed off, but be sure that they suffered too, a massive volume of living destroyed, taken from those who, like you and me, wanted to live, to experience the act of living.
Which is my way of saying that the Smother Brothers were right, and represented what I see as good in your country....a freedom claimed, that of free speech, but not allowed.
In my youth -- I think I remember woolly mammoths -- I toyed with being a political cartoonist, but my passion for painting birds -- a niche if ever there was one -- prevailed. But I do think that when they are at their best, political cartoonists do as those SNL comedians do, and bring a level of truth to the table to far more people than can the most erudite thought piece by this or that professor of whatever, although both are absolutely essential. Of course they, too, risk being fired, and often have to pass their ideas pass establishment-indoctrinated editors genetically fearful of the truth. Doonesbury was incredible, but very few comic strips dare to due what Gary Trudeau did, or can do much more than touch upon the edges of what we really have to know or understand.
But here is a question. Do the Trumps, Vances, Hegseths, Millers, Bondis and their repulsive ilk ever SEE any of that? Are they not aware of the level not just of satire, but ridicule, leveled against them by increasing numbers of both your countrymen, and us foreigners?
i've given up on Trump ever responding to logic or compassion....he is truly and absurdly nuts. But what of the others? Are they caught up in some sort of inescapable Faustian deal whereby the benefits outweigh the darkly hideous corner of history they are doomed to occupy? How can they not know.
I cannot, at this moment, think of a more dangerous human on the planet than Donald Trump; not one. Runners up, for sure, but none more threatening to life and to the generation now young, and those to come.
As another octogenarian (!) here, I also remember the Smothers Brothers - they were great!
Viet Nam War - not so much.
This bunch of thin-skinned, ignorant, arrogant, un-intelligent boobs thought, because they can do as they please here in the US & because Venezuela gave them a pass, that Iran was going to be easy! What they set in motion the whole world is going to suffer from.
And in answer to your question - no they are completely unaware of satire - not so sure they arent aware of the ridicule but of course would deny it.
I'd like to add to the numbers of people damaged by the Vietnam war. Those that came home changed, unable to live a full life, those physically impaired, and the ones that came home only to become sick and die from exposure to toxins.
When I used to visit the states I would accumulate coins in my pocket, and before leaving for home I'd search out a street person (not hard to find -- the cities I most often visited were Sacramento, Washington D.C., and San Antonio, TX, more or less in that order -- and give them what I had, usually just a few bucks. It was disheartening how many were veterans and I'd ask them why they enlisted or did not flee the draft and I never got a really articulate reply. My own dad fought in WWII and while he was not wounded, he suffered extreme mental and emotional repercussions. I actually would worry about anyone who experienced the horrors of war and didn't come home damaged emotionally, if not in some obvious, physical way. I don't know if you ever heard the original lyrics of When Johnny Comes Marching Home...it isn't the jingoistic song one more often hears. There is no glory or glamor in it, and those who think there is are, I think, bent or mistaken.
I too remember the Smothers Brothers. The beauty of their performances was that they were daring at the time, as evidenced by their cancellation by CBS. Although I watched the SNL Kegseth impersonation attempt at satire, it was too close to the truth for me to see any humor whatsoever. It sounded too real. And the SNL live audience has been replaced by canned laughter. I prefer George Carlin, perhaps because I’m old enough to have perspective. He is even more relevant today - there was always a point in his monologues where the audience stopped laughing and began listening to truth telling. I find myself watching old utube performances of Carlin, his monologues still ring true. And then there’s Lenny Bruce…
Comedy's contributions to airing unadmitted, inconvenient or uncomfortable truths goes way back. Maybe has had some ups and downs but it is the role of the court jester. And oracles.
The role of the court jester has always been the speaking of truth to power, when power becomes tyrannical. This dynamic explains the rise of satiric comedians in a nation of people used to being told facts in mainstream media, and then the lies and obfuscations becoming more and more obvious from those at the top.
Xplisset, what I learned (a hard and sad lesson) from reading your post today is the dynamic in which court jesters deepen the problem, by eventually making the personality more important than the content. Critical thinkers question all information, regardless of who produces it. When, as in our times, truth is hidden from us, we come to rely on what we see as the most trustworthy source, rather than on the presentation of facts themselves.
In some ways, consumers of satiric news on the Left mirror MAGA Trump supporters, who hear in his messaging the grievances and hatreds they themselves feel. Because he affirms these feelings, they call him "honest." Because the so-called "leaders" in our federal government are cruel, ignorant, and tyrannical, we call news satirists "truthful."
Xplisset broadens my mind and my heart every time he writes. This is why I'm a paid supporter!!!
As always, your essay today is provocative and timely. Now and then, you must whack the donkey on the nose to get its attention. Words well placed can speak more loudly and clearly than tombs of great volume. Keep up the good fight for the true American Patriots. We are listening with great vigor!
I am pretty sure that you and most of your followers are too young to remember the Smother Brothers TV show, but I do! It was great...lots of political satire and anti Vietnam stuff. That was in the era of multi-performer shows that are no longer affordable. CBS wanted it toned down, which was absurd; it was dead on target, and the Smother Brothers refused to capitulate. Nor did Joan Baez, the folk singer, when she was a guest on the show and paid tribute to her brother who was in jail for not allowing himself to be drafted into a war started on a false pretense -- that the Viet Cong posed an imminent threat to America (sound familiar?) and that if they succeeded communism would rapidly spread across the globe -- it was called the domino effect and was absolute nonsense. But the show, best satire of its time on American TV, was cancelled. As a Canadian I thought the Vietnam war was absurd even if the trigger, the Gulf of Tonkin incident were actual, which it was not.
Fast forward a couple of decades and I was on one of my many visits to Washington D.C. and I visited the Vietnam Memorial wall, or whatever it's called...a vast stretch of polished black stone with the names of all the fallen (that means killed) American service people etched into it, none of whom needed to die in the defense of America.
And that only told a fraction of what happened, with no people in the actual country invaded mentioned, and I won't get into the animals, wild and domestic, killed off, but be sure that they suffered too, a massive volume of living destroyed, taken from those who, like you and me, wanted to live, to experience the act of living.
Which is my way of saying that the Smother Brothers were right, and represented what I see as good in your country....a freedom claimed, that of free speech, but not allowed.
In my youth -- I think I remember woolly mammoths -- I toyed with being a political cartoonist, but my passion for painting birds -- a niche if ever there was one -- prevailed. But I do think that when they are at their best, political cartoonists do as those SNL comedians do, and bring a level of truth to the table to far more people than can the most erudite thought piece by this or that professor of whatever, although both are absolutely essential. Of course they, too, risk being fired, and often have to pass their ideas pass establishment-indoctrinated editors genetically fearful of the truth. Doonesbury was incredible, but very few comic strips dare to due what Gary Trudeau did, or can do much more than touch upon the edges of what we really have to know or understand.
But here is a question. Do the Trumps, Vances, Hegseths, Millers, Bondis and their repulsive ilk ever SEE any of that? Are they not aware of the level not just of satire, but ridicule, leveled against them by increasing numbers of both your countrymen, and us foreigners?
i've given up on Trump ever responding to logic or compassion....he is truly and absurdly nuts. But what of the others? Are they caught up in some sort of inescapable Faustian deal whereby the benefits outweigh the darkly hideous corner of history they are doomed to occupy? How can they not know.
I cannot, at this moment, think of a more dangerous human on the planet than Donald Trump; not one. Runners up, for sure, but none more threatening to life and to the generation now young, and those to come.
As another octogenarian (!) here, I also remember the Smothers Brothers - they were great!
Viet Nam War - not so much.
This bunch of thin-skinned, ignorant, arrogant, un-intelligent boobs thought, because they can do as they please here in the US & because Venezuela gave them a pass, that Iran was going to be easy! What they set in motion the whole world is going to suffer from.
And in answer to your question - no they are completely unaware of satire - not so sure they arent aware of the ridicule but of course would deny it.
I'd like to add to the numbers of people damaged by the Vietnam war. Those that came home changed, unable to live a full life, those physically impaired, and the ones that came home only to become sick and die from exposure to toxins.
When I used to visit the states I would accumulate coins in my pocket, and before leaving for home I'd search out a street person (not hard to find -- the cities I most often visited were Sacramento, Washington D.C., and San Antonio, TX, more or less in that order -- and give them what I had, usually just a few bucks. It was disheartening how many were veterans and I'd ask them why they enlisted or did not flee the draft and I never got a really articulate reply. My own dad fought in WWII and while he was not wounded, he suffered extreme mental and emotional repercussions. I actually would worry about anyone who experienced the horrors of war and didn't come home damaged emotionally, if not in some obvious, physical way. I don't know if you ever heard the original lyrics of When Johnny Comes Marching Home...it isn't the jingoistic song one more often hears. There is no glory or glamor in it, and those who think there is are, I think, bent or mistaken.
I too remember the Smothers Brothers. The beauty of their performances was that they were daring at the time, as evidenced by their cancellation by CBS. Although I watched the SNL Kegseth impersonation attempt at satire, it was too close to the truth for me to see any humor whatsoever. It sounded too real. And the SNL live audience has been replaced by canned laughter. I prefer George Carlin, perhaps because I’m old enough to have perspective. He is even more relevant today - there was always a point in his monologues where the audience stopped laughing and began listening to truth telling. I find myself watching old utube performances of Carlin, his monologues still ring true. And then there’s Lenny Bruce…
Forgot to mention Dick Gregory. Read, “From the Back of the Bus” in my early teens. It’s how I learned about racism.
Wow you called this shit out. Great piece X.
Honourable mention to Substack journalist/comedians like @jefftiedrich of Everyone is entitled to my own opinion. Factual and satirical.
Comedy's contributions to airing unadmitted, inconvenient or uncomfortable truths goes way back. Maybe has had some ups and downs but it is the role of the court jester. And oracles.
The role of the court jester has always been the speaking of truth to power, when power becomes tyrannical. This dynamic explains the rise of satiric comedians in a nation of people used to being told facts in mainstream media, and then the lies and obfuscations becoming more and more obvious from those at the top.
Xplisset, what I learned (a hard and sad lesson) from reading your post today is the dynamic in which court jesters deepen the problem, by eventually making the personality more important than the content. Critical thinkers question all information, regardless of who produces it. When, as in our times, truth is hidden from us, we come to rely on what we see as the most trustworthy source, rather than on the presentation of facts themselves.
In some ways, consumers of satiric news on the Left mirror MAGA Trump supporters, who hear in his messaging the grievances and hatreds they themselves feel. Because he affirms these feelings, they call him "honest." Because the so-called "leaders" in our federal government are cruel, ignorant, and tyrannical, we call news satirists "truthful."
Xplisset broadens my mind and my heart every time he writes. This is why I'm a paid supporter!!!
As always, your essay today is provocative and timely. Now and then, you must whack the donkey on the nose to get its attention. Words well placed can speak more loudly and clearly than tombs of great volume. Keep up the good fight for the true American Patriots. We are listening with great vigor!
Truth! In case you're in need of levity, check out my latest: https://americafist.substack.com/
Brilliant and excellent analysis.