5 Feet of Fury

The divided America that Jon Stewart leaves behind

Jaime Weinman in Macleans:

“We always have to remember that people can be opponents, but not enemies,” Stewart said on NPR in 2010. But today, no one—including Stewart—seems to remember that much. And it might not even be true. (…)

The Daily Show still has occasional segments that stand up for Stewart’s old idea of a non-partisan, common-sensical America—including a scene where a correspondent goes to Alabama and discovers he can’t find any ordinary people who are intolerant of homosexuality. But a lot of the material on the show has shown a greater willingness to despair about Americans themselves, not just their leaders. (…)

Far from the united people of Stewart’s imagination, it turns out Americans literally want different facts.