Hugh Hewitt’s Dec. 7 commentary about the creep of cruelty into our society is a study in false equivalence and an erroneous defense of our current president.
There’s a big difference between cruelty and satire. Hewitt acknowledges that politics has a long history of “condemnations, invective and insults … even provoking duels,” but blames television for bringing cruelty into our everyday lives.
Long before television, cruelty served as live entertainment. Bread and circuses in ancient Roman times, public executions for hundreds of years. All live shows on display for the viewing public. None of it funny.
In particular, Hewitt blames late-night talk shows, such as “Saturday Night Live” and “The Daily Show.” All of these shows are satire, which also has a history. Satire is meant to be funny, not cruel.
Mocking public figures is a benefit of our democracy. Note that free speech and satire are not allowed in the countries of deep savagery mentioned by Mr. Hewitt.
Our current president, from his bully pulpit, is not satirical, not funny, not creative. He’s just mean. And he makes stuff up. His bully pulpit gives him an advantage, and he may lull people into believing him.
The general public knows what satire is; they know it’s an exaggeration. We need all the satire and entertainment we can get these days. It’s our defense and our tonic to help us through these times.
Judith F. Zuckert, Sandy