Satire: Exposing Vice and Folly

SATIRE, n. An obsolete kind of literary composition in which the vices and follies of the author's enemies were expounded with imperfect tenderness. In this country satire never had more than a sickly and uncertain existence, for the soul of it is wit, wherein we are dolefully deficient, the humor that we mistake for it, like all humor, being tolerant and sympathetic. Moreover, although Americans are "endowed by their Creator" with abundant vice and folly, it is not generally known that these are reprehensible qualities, wherefore the satirist is popularly regarded as a soul-spirited knave, and his ever victim's outcry for codefendants evokes a national assent.
- Ambrose Bierce

250 years ago, Jonathan Swift suggested poor Irishmen eat their children to keep from starving. Of course, we all (hopefully) know that Swift did not wish this plan actually be carried out; he wanted the English, who ruled Ireland, to help those who were starving. However, had Swift appeared before the British Parliament and actually suggested that Englishmen offer assistance to the suffering Irish, he would never have been taken seriously. He would have been given a small note in the vast history of the fight for Ireland.

Today, Stephen Colbert is suggesting that you put down your books and feel the truth from him. Four nights a week, he appears on our television screens and tells us what to be afraid of, who is destroying America, and why George W. Bush is the greatest president ever. And, last Saturday, Colbert appeared in front of the man himself to give the truth directly to Bush.

Any “it-getter” knows what Colbert really thinks of Bush. But as Swift could not tell Parliament what they really should do, Colbert could not tell Bush what he truly felt. Colbert could not stand in front of Bush and say, “You are a poor excuse for a human being. You have been given power, and you abused it. You have broken laws, you’ve lied, and you’ve deceived the very people who have placed their trust in you. You’re pathetic.” But, also like Swift, Colbert had a tool that he could use: satire.

Satire exposes madness, hypocrisy, follies. Under the British crown, Irish Catholics lived on land owned by the Anglo-Irish aristocracy. They lived in terrible conditions, and Swift exposed it with his appalling proposal. According to Swift, the solution to the problem of Irish poverty was to simply get rid of the surplus population while providing nourishment at the same time. It sounds reasonable enough until you consider the way in which the plan would be carried out.

And, Colbert is also a master at exposing hidden absurdities. For instance, how does he feel about Republicans bringing issues such as gay marriage into politics? He tells Americans that they need to “raise the National Umbrage Level.” They need to continue bringing up topics that are sure to enrage people because “righteous fury seems like the best way to get people to the polls.” And then you realize that that’s exactly what the Republicans are doing – making people angry so they vote the right way.

Satire allows Colbert, as it allowed Swift, the luxury of criticizing hypocrisy, abuses of power, and absurdity because he never explicitly attacks his targets; he employs the technique of reductio ad absurdem, agreeing with the very things that he is satirizing. Bush is his “hero,” Bill O’Reilly is “Papa Bear,” and he retired Tom Delay’s congressional district like it was a ball player’s number. Thus, Bush could not do anything but sit and watch as Colbert skewered him at the White House Press Correspondents Association dinner. He had to take it because Colbert was just telling jokes; he wasn’t being serious or anything, right?

Yes, Colbert was telling jokes. He did not come right out and say what he felt, because his talent as a satirist provides him with a much stronger tool than would the ability to simply give a speech about what’s wrong with our government and the press. Colbert attacked the madness and inadequacies of the current administration and the press, and he exposed them to ridicule.