Jon Stewart

An Open Letter to Jon Stewart, on his Announced Retirement:

Dear Mr. Stewart,

I am not sure where to begin . . . except, maybe, we are deeply touched by your willingness over these past 17 years to speak truth to power, instead of having dinner with your family. We (most of your public) don’t really think about such things as your family life while we are being informed/entertained by you and your talented cast of crazy characters.

When Bill Moyers left his post at the Bill Moyers Hour, we were sad . . . very sad.  He was one of the only sources of truth left on the air. Moyers was honest, thoughtful and fair in his presentation of the stories that matter. I told him so, and thanked him.

You are a special case, though, even more special than Bill Moyers. With you, we get not only a sense of what stories we should be thinking about, but why we should be outraged. You speak for us . . . all of us mere mortals who have no access to power, but who still think.

And, I should note for you that, we (my wife and I) do not fall within your normal viewership of 18-29 somethings. No, we left that land long, long ago. I recently passed by my 41^st 39^th birthday (gotta love Jack Benny) and my wife just completed her 40^th . . . 39^th birthday.  But, despite our advanced age, we sit glued to the TV, watching you skewer the rich and powerful. Your cast and spinoffs (Colbert, Wilmore) support your concept magnificently and all add to our viewing pleasure.

Every time some idiot passes from the scene (Shrub comes to mind), we ask ourselves, “what will Jon do now?” But, there is always Rupert and the Faux News Network, isn’t there?  That group of slimebags will likely always be around as targets of scorn.  And thanks for that, Mr. Stewart.

So, we await with some great expectation how you and your network guys plan to replace you with someone(s) equally as grand, creative, and brilliantly sarcastic

Thank you sir. You have enriched our lives, even as we roar down our path to oblivion. Thanks for keeping us laughing. It’s harder each year to laugh, as our world gets crazier, more dangerous, and less caring. We know now that life really is all about money. If you don’t have lots of it (and we don’t) you don’t matter. We know that. But you have spoken to and for us anyway. So thank you. You will be missed.  We thought you should know.