Jon Stewart came out last night in opposition to the Obama administration’s decision to not release photos showing the dead body of Osama bin Laden because, Stewart said, we can’t judge the merits of war without seeing its effects.
First, Stewart shot down the argument that the pictures are too graphic to be shown in the media, saying that it couldn’t be much worse than what we already seek out in our entertainment.
“From 8PM on, every television show we watch begins with an internal tracking shot of a gaping wound above someone’s left eye before pulling out to reveal half a hooker in a dumpster discovered by a child on a bicycle,” Stewart said.
“You know what we call it? Prime time,” he added.
He then transitioned into a far more sober tone as he addressed the argument that releasing the pictures would inflame anti-American sentiment around the world, saying that that presumes people outside America aren’t used to seeing graphic images. Quite the contrary, he said, as people in the Middle East often see the violent images of American-led wars in their media — and sometimes even firsthand.
On a related point, Stewart suggested that Americans are too insulated from images of our own wars. Harkening back to the legal battle that allowed media outlets to show pictures of soldiers’ coffins — images which, Stewart said, the media hasn’t bothered to run since winning that case — he said we must see the effects of war before we can truly judge the merits of war itself.
“We can only make decisions about war if we see what war actually is,” Stewart said, “and not as a video game where bodies disappear leaving behind a shiny gold coin.”
Watch the video below:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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