Not So Expert Testimony

In what must be another sign of the near end of our civilization, Comedian Stephen Colbert was called by Congress to testify (and he did so in character with sly innuendoes and clever remarks reflecting negatively on Congress itself) before the Congressional Subcommittee for Immigration and Agriculture on the subject of illegal immigration. What makes Colbert an expert on that or any political issue must be, according it Congress, his routines on TV that are commentaries on the current dysfunctional scene we all know and hate.

Celebrities have been called to testify before Congress before on matters of their specialty,. but not a comedian to orate about the illegal immigration mess. It now seems that journalism is so sick that comedians like Colbert and his clone, Jonh Stewart, are leading the debate in this country about serious issues. It's a bit troubling when a comic doesn't reflect the insanity around him, but rather is seen as the ideal society to which society should reach and hold on to and as the source of truth about what society should or should not do.

Gee, instead give me the Marx Brothers or Steve Martin any day. At least they were funny and not merely cynical and pompous. I don't see many truths in ambassadors Stewart and Colbert messages. But then, unlike the millions who adore them, I also find news from other sources than TV comics like them. Why did Congess call Colbert to testify? Does Congress now practice self flagellation in the form of self imposed ridicule? Why do Americans seek their news from entertainers instead of serious journalists?

But then....there is a reason so many take comedians seriously as commentators on the many ills of modern society. Sadly, it's because they only seek laughs and need not lie like those politicians and journalists who have a personal interest in telling lies or some hidden agenda to push, that Colbert and his like are seen as truth tellers.

But surely if the public read and explored more those issues on its own comics would return to comedy, not news makers. Only an uninformed public would settle for a comedian's version of "political truth". Americans today segregate themselves into factions promoting distinctly separate views, often extreme ones. So it makes sense to them that they get their news from whomever confirms their own biases and prejudices. The true journalist won't so that. Hence, comics are the source of information. Uh..don't believe it? In 2009 Comedian John Steward was named "the most trusted man in news" by a poll of readers of the oldest and most reliable of news magazines, Time Magazine.

Let's see..a satirical character mocking Congress while testifying before them about a serious subject. Oh yes, this is the United States. It makes sense after all.