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Letters on the Stewart/Colbert rally

A selection of recent letters to the World Socialist Web Site in response to the article “Stewart/Colbert rally preaches compromise and complacency,” published November 1, 2010.

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Well, we now know that any social criticism is essentially the province of the insane. That is peculiar because this is a sentiment that has been promoted by all “wings” of the American establishment for something like a century.

 

Apparently the new generation of youth require Stewart and Colbert to hold this event for their inoculation. Unfortunately, the experience seems too lightweight to hold up well moving ahead. Everyone likes to laugh, but life for much of their audience is becoming a lot less fun than the lives of Stewart and Colbert. Consequently their conclusions will be a lot less easy-going than the two comedians will like.

 

Terrence M
Massachusetts, USA
1 November 2010

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It’s fitting that two comedians are the only Democrats in the US that anyone listens to.

 

Colbert deserves some respect, but they both have used their shows to curb a growing rejection of the entire political system and render the ruling elite more palatable.

KK
1 November 2010

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He was lampooning other rallies. He was not saying we have no problems and we should all just take Soma.

 

Kevin
Illinois, USA
1 November 2010

 

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First I want to say I fundamentally agree with your analysis of the rally. However I do want to point something out and that is while there can be no reasoned dialogue with the right, especially with Tea Party types because these people think there is only one truth and they know it and no amount of evidence will ever convince them otherwise the same is not true for the left. The idea that we need to compromise or rather find areas where we agree is the only way to build a mass movement in this country capable of changing anything. Dogmatism and sectarianism have done so much in my view to diminish the strength of the left in this country. Unfortunately this web site, which I have read for many years, does this too often. Instead of finding points of agreement it finds points of disagreement. One does not have to share all the views of someone but where people do agree they can work together. Another point is that his analysis of the media is entirely accurate and the fact that this rally drew more than the Beck rally I find significant. I’m sure this will not be highlighted by our media to any extent.

 

Karl S
New York, USA
1 November 2010

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Not only was this a pro-Obama, pro-Democrat rally, it was to prepare popular consent for the massive shift to the right we are going to see from the Obama administration post-election day. It will be portrayed by Stewart and his ilk as Obama having “heard the voice of the people” or something insipid like that.

 

Truly restoring “sanity” would mean giving the masses an honest idea as to the true nature of its government.

 

Brad P
Maryland, USA
1 November 2010

 

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An excellent analysis.

 

Especially excellent is calling the comedians on their equating socialism... and the direct or indirect implication.

 

The comedians might ridicule the status quo but they offer protection as you so well put it.

 

Michael S
1 November 2010

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The anti-communism that bubbles out at this rally, in the absence of a mass socialist movement, is an indication of the revolutionary epoch we are entering. The liberals are in crisis because of the unresolvable character of the social crisis, and there is a recognition that Marxism is going to get its hearing in the working class. To them, a working class movement is the worst possible consequence of their austerity program, but they have no progressive mechanism to head it off. Austerity is the order, and vicious attacks on democratic rights, rising militarism abroad and at home, and more austerity is what they have.

 

The rally offers up “sanity” of the most insane order. Marxists are accused of undermining the Constitution, while nothing is said of the Democrats, who have expanded the wars, spying, detention without trial, mass deportation and criminalization of immigrants, assassination of accused “terrorists” including targeting American citizens—to say nothing of the pillage of the treasury on behalf of the banks, defense of these banks, which have also fraudulently thrown masses of people out of their homes, cover-up for BP after the destruction of the Gulf Coast, and on and on to a staggering degree. The liberals have been on an absolute rampage against all the old democratic forms.

 

Your analysis is excellent. Jon Stewart wouldn’t stand two minutes in a debate with a Marxist.

 

EG
1 November 2010

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