There are many manners in which to be a hero; not all of them include donning a cape and fighting evildoers. Some heroes are more intellectual in nature, and all they need to change society’s wrongs is words, be it through pen and paper or by talking. The latter kind is usually not as well-known as the former, yet they have also influenced history in very important ways. One way of bringing society’s ills to light is through satire, of which there have been many master’s throughout the years. This genre ridicules the subject, using irony, sarcasm and much humor.
One of the most important satirists of all time has been Jonathan Swift, whose essay known as A Modest Proposal parodied the way in which people were attempting to solve a structural problem in a simplistic way. Nevertheless, he has not been the only thinker to employ this genre in performing social criticism. There are people today that do so as well, including Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Samantha Bee. All of these great thinkers have surpassed their status of humorists in order to hold a mirror to society, and allow it to correct its flaws, which is something very heroic.
Jonathan Swift lived in Ireland from the middle of the seventeenth century to the middle of the eighteenth one. He studied in this country, yet had to leave in 1688 due to the Glorious Revolution. He worked in England as a pamphleteer, yet when the Whigs returned to power, he exiled himself to Ireland again, where he began to support the causes of this country. There, he became a patriot through the publication of many pamphlets, including Proposal for Universal Use of Irish Manufacture and Drapier’s Letters, for which his printer was convicted, yet not imprisoned.
Nevertheless, his most famous and frequently studied pamphlet is A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, also known as A Modest Proposal. The eponymous suggestion was that, in order to alleviate their economic troubles, the Irish poor could sell their children to rich people as food. This obviously outlandish claim is taken under serious consideration, including possible recipes and economic benefits.
This comes as a shock to the reader, as the first part of the pamphlet discusses the plight of the Irish poor in a very serious and dramatic manner. People were being paid very low wages due to the mercantilist ideas of the time. Therefore, they were starving because they could not afford the high prices that food had.
Furthermore, this was due to the way England was treating the Irish. Swift believed that the English were treating the Irish as commodities instead of actual people. For them, the Irish were only workers that would produce products and money for them, not actual people. Therefore, as they served as virtual work machines, they could also be used as food.
Another way they dehumanized them was by conceiving them as just a number. This was evidenced in the many social engineering schemes that were in vogue. The way that Swift employs people as mere numbers in order to establish the financial consequences of this proposal is evidence of this. “Whereas the maintainance of an hundred thousand children, from two years old, and upwards, cannot be computed at less than ten shillings a piece per annum, the nation's stock will be thereby encreased fifty thousand pounds per annum” (Swift). Social engineering was a common practice at the time, even among intellectuals, a practice where the good of the nation, usually represented in the most powerful, was held over the interests of the particular people. This led the social engineers to promote practices that modified people so as to achieve their purposes.
As one can see, there were many injustices being committed at the time and Jonathan Swift was one of the few people actually doing something against them. Under such an oppressive regime, one of the only actions that one could take in a non-violent way was to speak out. Jonathan Swift did just that, raising his intellectual voice against the injustices that the English were committing against the Irish.
In that sense, many people believe him to be one of the times’ greatest patriots: he was one of the most influential in decrying this completely inhumane treatment. Even though he lived in another country for many years, he still attempted to liberate his own from the other nation’s unjust actions. He dared to speak out against people that he knew had more power than him, just because he knew that what they were doing was wrong.
This is even more significant because, at the time, he could have gone to prison. Complaining against and insulting the English crown were considered sedition. As stated before, his printer was convicted for just that, even though his charges were dismissed four years afterwards. The risk Swift took when publishing a manuscript was not just that the public would not accept it and that he would have economic trouble. Every time he produced such a scathing satire, he knew that he could actually go to jail for his thoughts.
Nevertheless, Jonathan Swift has obviously not been the only satirist to have ever lived. Some of history’s most famous ones lived during the time of the Roman Empire. In contemporary times there are many famous humorists who employ this genre in order to raise social awareness of important issues. Three of the most important in the United States of America are Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Samantha Bee.
Even though it is true that their labor is not as important as Swift’s was, it is still very relevant and influential. America may not be ruled by another country and be fighting for its independence, yet it still has internal turmoil. The national mythology attempts to paint the United States as almost flawless. Therefore, these satirists have the noble labor of providing people with the truth, no matter if it is in tune with the mainstream media or not.
This is especially true of the younger generations. There are various reasons why many teenagers and young adults would rather obtain their news from one of these comedians, rather than CNN, Fox News or another traditional news source. The most obvious one is that it is more fun. The more serious broadcasts are less entertaining to them, as they do not have a sense of humor and are not edgy. Logically, they would rather watch satire than something monotonous and boring.
Nevertheless, there is another aspect that makes satirists such as Colbert, Stewart and Bee more appealing. They do not just present the news, but also inform on the biases the other networks have. By being ironic with respect to the other way that people present news, they not only comment on fresh material, but also on the spin that other people are putting on the story.
This means that satirists give voice to a whole generation and sector that is discontent with the way the United States is being handled as a whole. These are people that are not fooled by the American veneer anymore, and are attempting to get the nation back on the correct path again. These three satirists are three representatives of the truth in a sea of manipulative media coverage.
Jon Stewart was the pioneer of the three, actually helping the other two reach stardom, as they were part of his show’s cast. Often, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart presented a piece of news by first showing how another source handled it. Then, he proceeded to comment on not just the story, but on how it was handled by the other news source. This obviously revealed the other network’s bias, producing social commentary.
Samantha Bee was one of the most important correspondents on this show. Her act was characterized by naively interviewing important people, yet making them fall victim to what they were saying. For example, in the segment “Kill Drill”, she got hunters and executives from fossil fuel companies to say that they were environmentalists, something that was obviously ridiculous (Bee). She has now gone solo, creating her own show, Full Frontal.
In the case of Stephen Colbert, his character on the show is satirical. He created a persona that is a caricature of many right-wing pundits on television, including Rush Limbaugh. As such, he proceeds to interrupt his guests during interviews, forcefully express his ignorant opinions and reason with faulty logic, all in a deliberate fashion.
Even though some would contend that he is not far from these Republicans themselves, the main tool of his satire is extending and expanding the actions of thoughts of these interviewers in a logical way so that people may see how ridiculous they are. His way of working is a kind of reduction ad absurdum, where the subject of satire is so enlarged that one can plainly see its faults. In this sense, one could say that he is the one that is closest to Swift’s method in the modern day.
Therefore, one could say that there are many ways in which these three satirists are contemporary heroes. To begin, they give a voice to the underprivileged that the mainstream media does not necessarily take into account. These latter institutions are usually commanded by higher interests, and thus cover the news stories that benefit them in the way that is harmless to them as well.
Even though they seem to be the majority, the so-called 99% is not commonly spoken for in the media, something that these three humorists do. Jonathan Swift clearly did this as well, raising his voice for the thousands of Irish who were starving. Therefore, speaking out for the poor is the first way in which all of these satirists are heroes.
Likewise, they are dedicated to spreading the truth. Even though many other networks are interested in the monetary aspects of their television shows, these three characters seem to be more interested in revealing what is dysfunctional or a plain lie about America. While it is true that they also have very high ratings, this is a consequence of their position, not what they are principally aiming for. Certainly, it would have been easier for them to make money off another, more conventional type of show. Nevertheless, they sacrificed themselves for their conviction that truth is what is most important.
Finally, they are all taking a stand to combat what they perceive to be injustices in their contemporary world. Even though talking or writing about a subject satirically may not seem like much, sometimes it is important to first raise awareness about an issue in order to later combat it. This is true with many political issues, as the will of the people is supposedly what is most important in a democratic society, such as the United States of America. Therefore, their role is extremely important because it enlightens other people, enabling social change.
As one can see from the logical arguments above, Jonathan Swift, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Samantha Bee are all heroes through their use of satire. Employing this genre of humor, they have demonstrated exceptional abilities in an effort to improve not just their own lives, but those of those around them as well. This includes giving voice to people that are not taken into account: the underprivileged. This is because they fight against evil in the form of the powerful: England in Swift’s case, and the 1% that dominates America in those of the contemporaries.
Furthermore, they have set asides their own financial gains in order to make society better; they take risks, which even included possible imprisonment for Swift. Even though some may believe that all they do is talk and write, their main accomplishment is raising awareness so that people may modify their reality, something that is especially important in a democracy.
Works Cited
Swift, Jonathan. (1729). A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, also known as A Modest Proposal. Web. 16 Apr. 2016. <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm>.
Bee, Samantha. “Kill Drill.” Online video clip. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 16 Apr. 2016. Web. 16 Apr. 2016. <https://web.archive.org/web/20080307061534/http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=129142&title=kill-drill>.
