Wow! I MISSED THIS!!! I can feel my heart start to leap with excitement as I type these words. I missed my blog! I missed having this time to be with my thoughts and feelings! I forgot how much I loved this!
To catch you up on the past year (and to make a long story short), I now work at American University. I have a lovely admin job in AU's School of Communication (SOC), which is where I received my master's in 2010. I love being back at SOC. I love working in academia. I have put my creative endeavors on hold, but I'm starting to return to those as well. It's nice to have a full-time job again and not be worried about paying my bills. I'm not making great money, but the benefits are fantastic, and I'm making enough to live on (and pay my student debt), so I couldn't ask for anything more.
What inspired me to finally login to my old blog, after all of this time? This man.
Jon Stewart. A defining character in my life. I wanted to write a blog about Jon Stewart to say thank you...and goodbye.
In February 2015, Jon Stewart announced that he would be stepping down as host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show. I cried. Remember when Michael Scott learned that Toby had returned to Dunder Mifflin in The Office? That was my reaction. Punched in the gut. Knocked the wind out of me. So sad.
I was sad because, like many people of my very specific age range (too old to be a Millennial, too young to be Gen-X), Jon came around at a very formative time in my life. I went to college in 1999. Jon Stewart took over The Daily Show in 1999. His show played in almost every dorm room at DePauw University from 1999 to 2003.
Jon won me over with his coverage of the 2000 Presidential Election. Like most of my friends in 2000, I wanted Ralph Nader to win and thought Al Gore was a bore (I hadn't even contemplated the idea that W. Bush would win). But, boy, did we all have a wake-up call the day after election night WHEN NO ONE HAD WON! And Jon Stewart nailed it!
"You know, guys, when we decided to call this thing Indecision 2000, we didn't think you would take us literally!"
I processed that insane election through the lens of Jon Stewart. I saw the absolute absurdity of it all because of Jon Stewart. And Jon has been a part of my life ever since.
Right now, the Comedy Central website is airing every single Jon Stewart episode of The Daily Show, from 1999 through the present day. It's call YOUR MONTH OF ZEN. And I am watching it every single free second that I get!!!
I am essentially re-living the last 16 years of my life. And it was the best of times; it was the worst of times. While I watch these episodes, I remember exactly what was happening in my own personal life. But I also remember what was happening in the world. And some terrifying things have happened in the past 16 years.
September 11, 2001:
Watching the episodes from 1999, 2000, and first half of 2001, The Daily Show is a goofy comedy, full of Bill Clinton sex jokes and superficial celebrity interviews. And I understand that. I relate to that. I was a college teenager during those years. My world was also full of crude jokes and celebrity news. That's exactly who I was, too.
But as I watch episode after episode from 2001, all I can think is, "I know what's coming." As I watch the episodes from 2001, and all the jokes about President Bush taking a month-long vacation at his Crawford ranch, I know that September 11th is going to happen. And I don't want to re-live those episodes.
I can't watch that footage of Jon Stewart's monologue after 9/11 without crying. I remember watching that episode from a friend's dorm room. Jon Stewart articulated what we all felt. Jon Stewart got us through 9/11, and that is no small ordeal.
The Iraq War:
Starting in 2002, the Bush Administration started making their case for an invasion of Iraq. To make a long story short, The Daily Show was the only media outlet to question the Bush Administration's claims of weapons of mass destruction and a connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.
Legendary journalist Bill Moyers reported extensively about the Bush Administration's use of propaganda in the lead-up to the invasion of the Iraq, and the media's unwillingness to question the propaganda. I advise everyone to watch Bill Moyers Journal: Buying The War.
Bill Moyers also reported on the brilliance and subversiveness of The Daily Show to question the Bush Administration at a time when people and news outlets were being calling un-American and un-patriotic for not supporting the invasion of Iraq. Click here to watch Bill Moyers' Interview with Jon Stewart.
My memories of the 2000 Presidential Election, September 11th, the War on Terror, the War in Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina are all associated with The Daily Show. Jon Stewart was a part of all of those moments for me. He helped me through all of those horrific events. He really did.
Right now, as I type this, Your Month of Zen is currently airing episodes of The Daily Show from March 2008. Great things (mainly, the election of the first African-American President, Barack Obama) are just around the corner. But more traumatic things (mainly, the collapse of the economy) are also around the corner. But I will write more about that in My Month of Zen - Part 2.
Jon, I miss you already. But I know that you will continue to be a part of my life for many years to come. Thank for getting me through it all. That's it - just thanks for getting me through it all.
Your biggest fan,
Leila
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