Jon Stewart’s message is rather complex – One hopes it penetrates
There are subtle messages in this Jon Stewart skit that one hopes gets into the cerebral cortex of Americans. If this new war America is about to embark on wasn’t so disastrous in more ways than one, this skit would actually be funnier.
Firstly, Jon Stewart mocks a media that feeds America on hyperventilation. He shows Fox News teasing America on whether we are going back to war with grave music. But are we not still at war? Aren’t we trying to get out of Afghanistan but still officially at war? He teases the bravado, the machismo of these news guys talking us into war.
Jon Stewart illustrates a great irony. ISIS / ISIL storms into Iraq uninvited to impose their way of life, their governing doctrine. Sounds familiar? Are they sort of plagiarizing US actions. That can’t happen. So, how does America address it? Get the band back together. Get the coalition of the willing. Same countries from Bush’s Iraq war?
Jon Stewart in effect is showing the insanity of America’s action. How much different is this from how Bush started? The irony is that unrecognized newcomers to the coalition include America’s supposed enemies, Iran and Syria’s Assad.
Jon Stewart goes on to show why ISIS / ISIL could not stand in the long run. Nobody likes them. I stated that much in my piece “Will we be conned into war again? ISIS / ISIL the pretext?”
America must not be conned into another war or irresponsible military action. Ask yourself a question. How can ten thousand or so men in pickup trucks with guns welded on its flatbed with a few captured American tanks be a threat to the world order? How would they function to sustain those they oppress without an eventual internal revolt? A contained ISIS can raise havoc in its immediate vicinity but will die like how any epidemic burns itself out. It will take longer if those in the vicinity capable of resisting the threat do not immediately resist.
The latter parts of Jon Stewarts piece illustrate how groups like ISIS / ISIL and Al-Qaeda are simply terrorist groups that cause overreaction because of their marketing. I wrote the following this morning in the piece “Americans allowing neocon influenced media to lead us back into war (VIDEO).”
The media is being used by the ISIS / ISIL terrorists, the neocons, and the military industrial complex to shape US opinion. After carpet bombing Americans with a hyperbolic view of ISIS / ISIL, they then poll Americans. The polls show that Americans are scared because they believe that ISIS / ISIL is an existential threat. They want the US to engage. After-all, the graphic beheading of two American journalists has much more impact on our daily lives than the 30 Americans that die every day to gun violence.
The President is being pulled indirectly by both the Democratic and Republican Parties into a war he does not want. This is a big win for the military industrial complex and the neocons. They have played with Americans’ emotions once again. Once again Americans will support policies that will ultimately hurt both our security and our economic well-being.
Will we ever learn? We can if we enlighten each other. Check out Politics Done Right that covered this issue here.