I Am America (And So Can You!)
by Stephen Colbert
Grand Central Publishing, 2007http://www.colbertnation.com/
Funny Even to Europeans
I Am America (And So Can You!) has been such a bestseller in the US that it is now stocked on bookstore shelves across the Godless heathen lands of Europe. Noted ex-pat Critical Mick explains all and brings you two important points.
Many of the jokes that I laugh at on The Daily Show are completely lost on colleagues who have never lived in the US, so let me take a moment to explain: Stephen Colbert's book is a parody of righty-wingy nut jobs that are instantly familiar to Americans from sea to shining sea.
The best way to explain it is via Jerry Springer. Imagine that same sort of outrage programming, but with political themes. On every radio and TV dial in America, presenters offer a parade of stupidity and righteous accusation. These shows generally come paired with a virulent right-wing manifesto and ads for dodgy investments. A series of these pundits have amassed great wealth. The sad part is that millions of enraged viewers/listeners/readers do not realize that this is all entertainment, not serious political discussion.
A good case in point is Rush Limbaugh. I came back from college one vacation and my Dad was raving about some guy who's intelligence was reportedly on loan from God. We listened to him on the drive to the hardware store. Rush and several buddies all agreed past the point of hysteria that Inner City People Are Stupid. Or maybe it was Hillary Clinton Is Stupid. Or Countries That Oppose America Are Stupid. "This Limbaugh guy built a whole career out of this?"
My Dad couldn't accept such heresy. "You don't like Rush?"
"This talk show host is not worthy of that name. Rush is already a Canadian rock band."
"Canada! Don't get me started on that Pinko bunch of Socialists!" But, the ads for limited edition gold coins were over and this talk show host began riling America up into arms against Stupid Drug Addicts.
On another drive years later, my Dad skipped channels right past his one-time hero. "What's the matter?"
"Don't get me started on Rush," he replied. It turns out that while growing into the biggest, fattest, richest bastard he could possibly be, Rush Limbaugh was also pumping enough drugs into his body to put even the Vilest Dirty Hippie to shame. Not even a news clip of George W. Bush could cheer Dad after these revelations.
Anyway, that's the context. Several dozen other shock-jock political loudmouths pounced to feast on Rush Limbaugh's bloated corpse until enough room was devoured for this pack to raise their own baying, blood-dripping muzzles and howl across America. Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You!) is meant to be the three-day tirade of one of these new Limbaughs. Its humor comes from turning their volume up one more notch, that crucial distance from ten to eleven which makes it clear how ridiculous their message is.
And funny it definitely is. Fierce fat-arsed independent that I am, I was prepared to dislike an amply-hyped hardback from the mainstream. With a cynical eyebrow raised I dove into Colbert on a random page. Within seconds I surfaced laughing hysterically. I was just like a whale whacked by one of those lampoons. Boy was this guy sharp!
Chapters are divided up into topics such as Higher Education, Homosexuals, and Religion. Stephen Colbert rants off his opinions with no holds barred. Advice for raising children, for example:
INSERT EXCERPT HERE
The book conveniently comes with notes of agreement pre-jotted in the margins. There is also a page of "I agree!" and "Good point!" stickers for the reader to note favourite passages. Best of all I liked the sign for readers to place in the window of their homes: "Attention Firemen! There are x copies of I Am America (And So Can You!) in this house!" In design as well as content, this book really is cranked up to 11.
As funny as I Am America (And So Can You!) is, its humor is ephemeral. Jokes are made at the expense of candidates from the 2008 Presidential Primary, names that will be all but forgotten a few years from now. Point Number One is: if you wish to enjoy Stephen Colbert, enjoy him thoroughly. Enjoy him now.
Point Number Two involves 2 Live Jews. Back when Rap music first emerged, the angry posturing of albums like As Nasty As They Wanna Be was taken seriously by concerned millions of American whities. And wherever there is someone taking matters seriously, there's some goofball cracking jokes. Enter 2 Live Jews, purportedly a pair of elderly Jewish guys who have just discovered their own mastery at dropping beats and busting rhymes. In 1990 they released a rap album of their own, declaring to all those aggressive black fellers that they'd be As Kosher As They Wanna Be.
Twenty years on, both 2 Live Crew and 2 Live Jews are forgotten. The laughter has long gone, but ground had been broken and the idea remained. In 2006 a Hassidic Jewish youth by the name of Matisyahu released a debut album that blended reggae, rap and lyrical experiences from hardcore Jewish culture. People perked up their ears and blinked. This was actually extraordinary music, earning Matisyahu Rolling Stone's 2006 award for Best Reggae Artist. What had once been just a joke returned and took control.
I have a half-fear that nutty notions Colbert introduced for laughs in 2007 might come back. Conservatives are typically serious, practical people who are concerned about issues and stand up to take action when everyone else is off engaged in frivolous pursuits. Conservatives have only the slightest grasp on humor, as well. In 2027 I can see them taking Colbert up on (for instance) his proposition to forcibly relocate all senior citizens to the Mexican border and press them into service as border guards. "Those loungers weren't employed, and our nation had a job that needed doing. Problem solved! You can't argue with that."
Or Colbert's ascertation that endangered animals are endangered because God is mad at them. "Because they are resisting God's will" is all the undeniable reason needed to chuck inconvenient tree-huggers into jail and pave national parks into a new multi-million dollar property development. A lot of the rationalizations that people come up with to permit their own actions are no less insane. I am laughing today, but hoping that no Rush Limbaugh of tomorrow turns what Colbert is saying into the future's equivalent of "We had to destroy the village in order to save it."
Critical Mick says: Funny even to Europeans, I Am America (And So Can You!) might one day be responsible for the slavery of millions. Laugh now, while you still can!
There is an interesting side-story, in which hard-hittin' street warriors 2 Live Crew went crying to the courts and tried to sue 2 Live Jews for copyright infringement. They lost, providing another band named Negativeland with interesting clips from news reports to mix into their Fair Use album.
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