Colbert Nation
Posted on | June 10, 2008 |
Finally got the image posting part of this blog fixed. So here he is. The Man. The Myth. The Colbert. He is obviously very excited about that wonderful piece of art he’s got behind him. Look how proud he is of it. I wonder who made such a cool thing? Oh that’s right, I sent it to him after his incredible performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Thanks again for that, Mr. Colbert. As I said at the time: Balls the size of Alpha Centauri.
Actually, here’s everything I said at the time:
So many roads, so much at stake
So many dead ends, I’m at the edge of the lake
Sometimes I wonder what it’s gonna take
To find Dignity.
-Bob Dylan
Well folks, I guess someone had to do it eventually. It might say something about the times we’re living in that it had to be done under cover of satire, but Stephen Colbert may be the Joseph Welch of our time. You may remember that Welch was the man who finally, at long last, stood up to the savage destruction that Senator Joseph McCarthy was imposing on the United States in his now infamous witch hunt for Communists inside the government. Saturday night at the White House Correspondents dinner, Stephen Colbert gave what may one day be considered the equivalent of the now famous line Welch delivered to McCarthy to launch the beginning of that bastard’s end: “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?†Time will tell if it has the same impact, but even if it doesn’t, I will remember it forever as a time when, for even the briefest of moments, I felt free again.
Colbert was the featured speaker at the event and he did not disappoint. One can only wonder if whoever it was that approved him for the gig was under the false impression that the Bill O’Reilly-like character he portrays on his brilliant show “The Colbert Report†was his real persona. Colbert toils in satire and his effort tonight was nothing short of a work of staggering genius that could only be pulled off by a man with testicles the size of Alpha Centauri. He savaged everyone in the room, and saved the best for the man sitting not fifteen feet away, George W. Bush.
Colbert’s riffs on the lack of the media to question, well, basically anything for the majority of the last six years seemed to leave the room full of reporters feeling a bit unappreciated. And deservedly so. They have stood watch while the greatest experiment in the history of man has been slowly (okay not that slowly) disassembled, twisted, and perverted to serve no one and nothing but big business… most noticeably the war machine. But he had plenty of gas in his tank for everyone and nobody was safe. John McCain, Don Rumsfeld, Scott McClellan, Karl Rove, Tony Snow, the list goes on and it absolutely, positively, without a doubt, did not fail to include the Great Decider himself.
I won’t even attempt to get into specifics here, you can watch it for yourself online, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa-4E8ZDj9s). The real test now will be what happens next. Will the press finally realize that questioning the All Powerful Oz is not only their job, but their responsibility as citizens of this Great Country? Will the White House Press Corps be willing to upset the White House with uncomfortable questions until they get an actual answer and not just a “no comment?†Will we, as a country, finally wake up and take responsibility for the madness we have wrought upon ourselves and the rest of the world? The time is now, for tomorrow may be too late.
The United States, as a country, as an idea, is in grave danger. We have been lied in to what can now only be described as an unprovoked war of aggression and we will be paying for it in every way imaginable for the rest of our lives. Financially, we have wasted trillions. Money that could have rejuvenated this country’s infrastructure, its schools, inner cities, hospitals, as well as could have been used to develop alternative energy sources to get the US and the world off its oil addiction. The human cost seems immeasurable. Some 2400+ American soldiers dead. Tens of thousands wounded. And how many dead and wounded Iraqis we will probably never know. Not to mention those thousands of young Iraqi children who will grow up hating the United States for killing their parents. Talk about sowing the seeds of future terrorists. Our standing in the world as the moral authority of the human race can now only be laughed at and mocked. Where once the world sought to emulate the United States, now the world wants nothing to do with us. And now, as the chicken-hawks in the administration again beat the drums of war in the direction of Iran, is when we will have to stand up and let our voices be heard. This will not stand. The Bush administration has turned us from a rich nation at peace to a flat broke nation involved in two wars and looking to start a third. This will not stand. Tax breaks for the rich and war for the poor. This will not stand. Why are we surprised that under an administration of oil men (and women, let’s face it, Condoleeza Rice did have an oil tanker named after her) the price of gasoline has doubled? This will not stand. An administration that sees nothing wrong with warrantless wire-tapping, secret prisons, torture, and who knows what else, in the name of freedom, democracy, and the American Way. This will not stand.
Stephen Colbert has looked the monster in the eye and he has called it like he sees it. And we cannot leave him alone out there with those savages. They are liars. Lying about the reasons for war. WMD’s. Saddam/al-Qaida links, yellow cake from Niger, democracy. They are thieves. Stealing the money with which this country could once again become the guiding light of the world. Stealing our fathers and sons, mothers and daughters for a war that has no reason. And no end. They are pompous, arrogant, conceited, fanatics who are certain that they are right and that you are wrong. That they know what is better for you than you do. They are the true American Taliban. And they must be stopped. Thank you Stephen Colbert. You were the first. I can only hope you will not be the last.
Comments
4 Responses to “Colbert Nation”
June 10th, 2008 @ 7:18 am
I always wondered who did that magnificent piece of art for Stephen - glad to be able to put a name with an art.
Thanks for blogging about this!
June 10th, 2008 @ 7:29 am
Nice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Humes
June 11th, 2008 @ 6:56 am
Nice site.
June 11th, 2008 @ 9:40 pm
Good site I “Stumbledupon” it today and gave it a stumble for you.. looking forward to seeing what else you have..later