Phoenix Creation Journal #3

For those of you who don't know, three is a very big number for me. And because of that, I deliberately skipped "Phoenix Creation Journal #3" as a post title and went right for four, because I wanted to make sure that the post that bore the number three contained something special. I had no idea what that would be though, until now.

I think it's a very common feeling to feel the need to have a voice. The world's a big place, and as it marches, shambles, or awkwardly spasms on, I know that we all just want to know our voice is being heard. That people know what we think. That we're not being ignored. I, personally, am privileged to live in a country that features a democratic process, but even with that in place, with all the insatiable billionaires, puppet politicians, propaganda machines, and... Fox News running around, it really does feel like sometimes the grand 'ole democratic process isn't really making my voice heard like it says it does on the tin.

And that's why I think it's an incredibly special thing to encounter someone who has an audience, and who has people who are listening, who has the same views as you do. Someone who can truly represent you. And I don't mean panderingly saying what they think you want them to say so you won't stop listening to them, but really saying what they feel. When you get something real like that, there's this magical moment where you realize you do have a voice. Someone's out there, spreading the exact word you would spread except to an audience several magnitudes larger than anything you're pulling.

For me, the Daily Show's host Jon Stewart was my voice. Everything that upset me in this country and in the world at large, Jon tore into with a beautifully perfect mixture of satirical comedy and remarkable insight. Our views were so lined up that every night when he went on, I really did feel like I was up there, verbally smacking Fox News over the head for being a bunch of poo flinging monkeys who insist that giving all the bananas to the obese alpha gorillas is the perfect way to make sure everybody gets their fair share of bananas. And also, those alpha gorillas have chronic binge eating disorder. Also, screw Fox News.

My point is, I discovered the Daily Show on a recommendation from my high school government and psychology teacher, which I actually heard in passing because he was actually giving the recommendation to a friend of mine. By the time I started tuning in, the host Jon Stewart had already announced some months ago that he would be leaving the show come... well, come now, actually. Nevertheless, I was instantly enthralled. Never before in my life had I ever been so enthused and inspired by a man on television before, and I'm including Batman and the Doctor in that running. In a very short span of time, Jon Stewart became my voice and my hero, which is probably why it's so sad for me to see him go.

Granted, I completely understand the reasoning he gave for his exit, and I wish nothing but the best for him, and his family. I have all the same feelings for upcoming host Trevor Noah that I had for Peter Capaldi when he sneezed into existence and then crashed the TARDIS into a dinosaur's gizzard. I hope he can do something great with the role he's been given, I know I'll tune in to see what he's got, and I'll probably even like his stuff. But I'll never forget my drunk giraffe.

I'm left then, in an odd position, as I mourn the exit and retirement of one of my heroes. And I think about all the idiots on Bullshit Mountain, and I imagine them feeling smug right now. I imagine them thinking that the one guy who could call them out on their crap is gone and now they're free to once again operate with impunity. I'm sure there's others out there keeping the fight going. I hear John Oliver is doing well on HBO, and as I said the Daily Show is still going to keep going with Trevor Noah. But in the wake of John's exit, during which I totally did not cry because I was too busy lifting weights and talking about monster trucks, I've decided that I'm done sitting on the sidelines. From now on, I'm my own voice, and I'm going to use that voice to remind Fox News what a terrible case of the stupids they've come down with. And also probably talk about other stuff.

Do you hear that Jon Stewart? Even if technically your 16 years of comedy gold didn't make the news networks any better at their jobs, even if that side-splitting pun didn't cause all of Isis to spontaneously combust, and even if everyone were to suffer a sudden brain hemmorage accompanied by a global expunge of all Daily Show footage both from Comedy Central archives and the internet, you will still have a legacy, and it will be one horribly inexperienced writer ranting on the internet through a blog that absolutely no one reads. Which is kind of a crap legacy, so you really better hope that whole "expunge Jon Stewart from history" thing doesn't happen.

Cheers.