Jon Stewart

Hegel Myths and Legends (SPEP)
$39.95
"Hegel Myths and Legends" is an anthology defending Hegel against accusations that he was a totalitarian obscurantist and proto-Nazi who divinized the state, glorified war and supported German nationalism. In the Anglo-Saxon world, these accusations are mostly associated with Karl Popper. Other claims about Hegel the editors believe are incorrect include his supposed belief in "the end of history", the dialectical schema thesis-antithesis-synthesis, and his attempt to prove that there could only be seven planets (I never heard that one before). A legend not mentioned in the book is the claim that Hegel was an occultist and Rosicrucian.

I admit that I haven't studied the issue sufficiently to judge whether "Hegel Myths and Legends" is true, false or falls somewhere in between. Several of the contributors admit that Hegel's philosophy has been used by virtually all political groups, and even some Christian theologians, to justify their own pet ideas. Hegelianism, it seems, has a protean quality. Apart from right-Hegelians and left-Hegelians, there were also centrist Hegelians. It seems that the editors and contributors to this volume want to see Hegel in a centrist light. Thus, they claim that Hegel favoured a constitutional monarchy and moderately liberal democracy, that he attempted to stay clear of both the Holy Alliance and the radical opposition in Prussia, that his ideas about "the real being the rational" have been torn out of context, etc. They also claim that Hegel was an abolitionist.

Curiously, the anthology also contain a text denying that Hegel was an enlightenment philosopher, instead connecting him to the "irrationalist" stream within European philosophy. The author seems to think that this is something positive!

The most sensational text in this collection claims that the dialectical triad thesis-antithesis-synthesis cannot be found in Hegel, but comes from an erroneous interpretation by an otherwise unknown Kantian scholar, a certain Chalyb���us. Apparently, Karl Marx read his book about Hegel, and the rest is history.

On two points, I believe the authors are quite correct. Hegel surely didn't believe in "the end of history", since he said that the World Spirit might manifest itself in the United States in the future (i.e. Prussia isn't the end of historical development). The idea about "the end of history" seems to be a concoction of one Alexandre Koj���ve, a French Hegelian often regarded as highly idiosyncratic by Hegelian scholars. The other point concerns German nationalism. Hegel, of course, supported Napoleon. Later, he made his peace with the Holy Alliance, which wasn't nationalist either. Indeed, at the time *liberalism* was associated with nationalism!

What I don't understand about "Hegel Myths and Legends" is the exact status of the contributing authors. Are they really Hegelians? Some kind of neo-centrist Hegelians, perhaps? But what on earth can being a Hegelian possibly mean today? Or are they simply scholars who believe that Hegel had some interesting ideas worth looking into, and who for that reason want to defend the old man's reputation?

Although "Hegel Myths and Legends" is apparently intended for students, it isn't an easy read. You need to be relatively well informed about Hegel, or at least the myths and legends surrounding him, to really appreciate it. Frankly, it's a typically boring scholarly tome.

But yes, it might be worth looking into if you actually plan to read "Phenomenology of the Spirit"...

Hegel, it seems, is all things to all people.

The New Blue Media: How Michael Moore, MoveOn.org, Jon Stewart and Company Are Transforming Progressive Politics
$24.95
This is a must read book for anyone who is the least bit interested in how the Internet and shows like Jon Stewart's and Stephen Colbert are changing the political landscape.

The book also reminded me of a PBS special with the men and women from the old Your Show Of Shows (Mel Brooks included) from the early 50's where Mr. Brooks make the astute observation that when TV was new the only people who could afford the sets, were by and larger better educated and thus better paid. And because of this the viewer wanted shows that were mature thinking, and whose humor was the type that left something to the viewers imagination. Yet, as more and more people could afford a television set, things changed, and humor had to be more direct and less cerebral.

This is why shows like those Jon Stewart (The Daily Report) and The Colbert Report, remind me of early television and a more discerning viewer. I also read The Onion, and I did listen on occasion to Air America, but as the author notes, it became a tad tiring and less thought provoking because its seemed to want to mimic someone like Rush Limbaugh. I do agree with the author who touches upon the concern that progressive media be it television, radio or print, needs to also appeal to the blue colour listener.

It saddens me that so many progressives still see blue colour as being less educated and lower paid. But that's just my view. I consider myself blue color since I live in a rural area, live in less than someone in suburbia, and dropped out of college. Yet, being blue color doesn't mean I don't like political humor that is thought provoking, or isn't issue oriented.


I also like the book because it makes the reader see that television shows like Stewart's and Colberts, also allow humor that some people avoid, which does indeed make a person think! And the author is also VERY fair when it comes to critical observations of people like Michael Moore.

Naked Pictures of Famous People
$14.95
Could NPoFP possibly be from the pen of the same Jon Stewart who brought us "America (the Book)" (one of the funniest books ever assembled)? It dawns on me that the latter was team-written. Not sure whether any of JS's colleagues contributed (ideas, moral support) to NPoFP. I imagine they'd cherish their anonymity if they did. NPoFP is a spectacularly unfunny book trying desperately -- and in the most hackneyed ways -- to provoke a laugh(, a chuckle, a crooked smile...) page after juvenile page. (Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of the Jon Stewart show and of JS himself. I think he's both a very funny and a very thoughtful guy 'in person'. That said, I can only register my surprise and disappointment at how totally TOTALLY lame a guy he apparently is (or at least was this time) on paper.) Oy veh!!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Indecision 2004
$39.98
I Received The DVD The Daily Show With Jon Stewart And Strangers With Candy The Movie, They Were Both Good, In Fact I'm Going To Go Watch It After I Write This Review