I Guess We're Not Funny

On Point is a superb call-in radio talk show out of Boston, hosted by John Ashbrook. He brings on experts in all kinds of stuff, from politics, business, economics, and all sorts of cultural fun stuff, too. Listeners get to chime in throughout, with observations and questions. Very cool show.

http://www.onpointradio.org/

Today, they gave an hour to talking about political humor, how it takes shape, and how it functions in America these days. Very compelling conversation, and lots of funny jokes to laugh at.

Listen to the show online, here.

I was blown away by how the guests and callers emphasized that huge numbers of people turn to humorists like Jon Stewart to get a more 'real' or 'honest' presentation of news. I love The Daily Show, but I was still really compelled to think about the kind of devotion people were indicating to shows like this.

This one caller confessed that when he started watching The Daily Show, it was "like the scales falling away from my eyes."

Okay, for those who don't know, that's a scriptural reference to events surrounding the conversion of the Apostle Paul, who was struck blind in an encounter with Christ, and was miraculously re-sighted by a faithful Christian, which inspired him to become baptized and begin proclaiming the Gospel.

Read the story in The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9.

Later in the radio show, callers and guests repeatedly shared that they watched shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report "religiously," because that's the only medium in which presenters are unafraid to speak truth to power. Wow.

How come nobody uses words like "religiously" to describe the actual practice of religion? Why am I not hearing radio shows about preachers being the ones brave enough to speak the truth about the Iraq War, disastrous US education and economic policies, the collective turning away of US society from the poor, or from the incarcerated?

Again, I love a good comic, and some of these folks are VERY intelligent with very poignant observations about the news. I'm not criticizing The Daily Show. But why is it up to The Daily Show to defy the American government with its perspective on the state of the world?

Why are American churches, who claim to be followers of a man executed for sedition (that would be Jesus) not carrying more of this load?