At an already strained and divided time in our country, the political cycle generally creates more divisiveness in an attempt to remind people of what makes us different.
The Republican National Convention seemed to encourage an increase in guest appearances by Republicans on liberal talk shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert.
The format of The Daily Show is usually to devote the first 15 minutes to pithy sarcasm and crude humor, and then from about 15 minutes onward, the show is dedicated to fairly deep and sincere discussions between Jon Stewart (a liberal) and his guest (often a conservative). The Colbert Report also typically dedicates the first portion of the show to some satirical humor and then dedicates the last portion of the show to a somewhat serious discussion with a guest.
In recent interviews, shortly after the posturing and initial awkwardness wears off, the host and guest seem to arrive at the same conclusions about our government, political system, and country being in a state of disrepair. Here are a few recent examples of some good discussions:
- Jon Huntsman and Stephen Colbert
- Marco Rubio and Jon Stewart (skip to 15 minutes into the show)
- Michael Steele and Jon Stewart (skip to 16 minutes into the show)
The above discussions are examples showing a politics of reason.