1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

General News One of the most meaningful monologues ever by Jon Stewart (Daily Show)

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by Chip, Sep 11, 2013.

  1. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    16,551
    Likes Received:
    4,750
    Location:
    northern CA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    For those of us in the US, today is the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks of 2001. Many EC readers are too young to remember much about the attacks.

    This video, from a week or so after 9/11/01, is probably one of the best, most heartfelt monologues Jon Stewart has ever given. I saw a link to it today. I remember it from when it first aired, but thought it was worth sharing again.

    [YOUTUBE]SXcmc2AZ6ZE[/YOUTUBE]​
     
  2. Rakkaus

    Rakkaus Guest

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2012
    Messages:
    878
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    New York
    Thanks for posting that, it is good to see some remembrance of the 9/11 anniversary here, sad as it may be. Stewart was at his best.

    But oh my I can't believe it has been 12 years already, I remember it like it was yesterday, my first day at a new school, sitting in class and hearing two loud explosions, and not knowing what it was. (I was sitting furthest in the back of class, I wasn't sure if anyone else heard them, sounded to me like explosions coming from the lockers in the back of the classroom, but I assumed I must be hearing things)

    The teacher didn't tell us what was happening, but one-by-one students started being called down to be dismissed as their parents came to take them out of school, we had no idea why, some were joking about someone having a surprise party or something. But to me it was a very creepy feeling. My mother was working so she couldn't pick me up, and I ended up eventually going home with a friend when his mother came to pick him up.

    My school was located up on a hill, and I'll never forget the mental image of walking out of school and and turning to look across the river, and seeing Manhattan covered in a massive cloud of dark grey smoke that cloaked the entire city and seemed to stretch out for miles into the sky.

    It was such a beautiful day weather wise, so warm and sunny and calm, which I think actually added to the general sense of eeriness, with the horrors that were unfolding in the midst of the calm.

    After 9/11 it was a week of craziness, we had off 9/12 and 9/13, but were supposed to come back on Friday for a late start at 10am, but that morning we got last minute phone calls that there were fears that terrorists were driving vans filled with explosives around NYC, so school was cancelled again. Crazy times.
     
  3. Jinkies

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2011
    Messages:
    2,321
    Likes Received:
    47
    Location:
    Northern Ireland
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    September 11, 2001 will be a day I will never forget. I knew that from the time I sat down with my bowl of Rice Krispies and turned my head to see the TV on during a school day. That was something that never happened. Ever. It was against the rules of the house for it to happen. It still is. But that's not the reason I won't forget it. Nor is the vision I saw on screen, nor was it my prediction that another plane will come to take the other building, nor the confirmation of that. Nor is it the fact that thousands of innocent people died that day, nor is it for the religious reasons of a country on the other side of the globe. Neither is the reason that on that day, I knew that things in this world weren't always peachy-keen.

    The reason I will never forget it is because on that day, the entire United States of America lived up to its name. For the first time since the signing of the Constitution, the United States were united. The left, the right, the theists, atheists and anti-theists all joined to support one another. We may try and reflect on it and say that we were separated, but that simply was not true. Everybody was one people. I had never seen a stronger nation. Not in terms of military or government, but in people.

    And the reason I cry in remembrance of this day wasn't of the fallen, buildings or people. It's not because our soil was attacked. It's not even the fact that someone hated us so much that they thought everybody in this country deserved death and attempted to carry it out.

    It's because shortly afterwards, this country turned a blind eye to love and started to hate. The United States were more of a hateful country than ever before. Nobody could wear a turban in the airport and not be labeled a terrorist just because he was a Muslim. The religious right became more hateful than they ever were, and during this period of time, during the Iraq war was when I couldn't hear the radio and not hear "Illegal immigrants" or later, "Illegal aliens". They had turned their thoughts toward emotions and not towards logic.

    But even more so, we underwent a 2nd civil war. Not in terms of bullets. But in terms of parties. I know the Republicans and Democrats weren't entirely friends at this point, but I can't hear about a democrat and not hear a republican go "Unamerican" or hear about a Republican and not hear a Democrat go "Bigot" just because he has a "D" or an "R" by his name.

    When 9/11 came, we were a strong country, but fell apart due to it, as well. This country is ashambles, and we need to get it back on its feet. We can do it, I know we can. We've shown that we can support one another, but for some reason we've decided to hate each other.
     
  4. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    16,551
    Likes Received:
    4,750
    Location:
    northern CA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Brené Brown (I know I quote her incessantly, but it's relevant here) talks a lot about the effect of 9/11 on the country. She was just starting her shame and vulnerability research (qualitative interviews that took several hours per interviewee) around the time of 9/11, and one of the things that emerged in her research was a major change in people's level of vulnerability (as in, emotional openness) after 9/11.

    She says, based on her research, that we, collectively, as a country, numbed out and became a lot less vulnerable after 9/11, and that numbing and "invulnerability" has directly led to the loss of interaction, communication, the loss of give-and-take, the extremism seen with both political parties, but particularly among Republicans, and the hatred.

    It's hard for people, once they've shut down, to learn to be open and vulnerable again. That's what makes it possible to let go of the hatred. It's scary. But it's necessary. And the more we communicate about the importance of letting ourselves be vulnerable, listening, opening our hearts and our minds... the more we begin to be able to heal and to unite.