This is why Jon Stewart is the darling of most people and hated by conservatives. Because there’s no such thing as “liberals”. It’s normal people, who can be swayed by rational thought and conservatives. People are normally rational, able to process new, confliciting infomartion. It’s not until they become politically active and internalize the talking points, do they shut their minds off. Expertise and the Ideological Consequences of the Authoritarian Predisposition, discusses this. Its not until authoritarians consume a lot of political information that they discover who they are—whereupon they become more accepting of inequality, more dogmatically traditionalist, and more resistant to change.

If this fascinates you, your should read The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science–and Reality

That’s why comedians are so successful at pointing this out. Because we’re logic animals, we should be above this. Bill Clinton said “We win when we think.”

Out of Mao’s Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China sounds fascinating. I’ll add it to my list. If there was a Chinese version of Amazon, I’m sure they would be making lots of money off me for this project.

If you love Jon Stewart, you may want to check out his other books:

The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake News

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book) Teacher’s Edition: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction

And for a scholarly work:
The Daily Show and Rhetoric: Arguments, Issues, and Strategies

I agree that we need to keep an open mind about China. Like Pan expressed in the interview, China is different from what Americans believe it to be. The government is not planning a great scheme to pull the table cloth out from under the United States, nor is it trying to take over the world — the government is, at the moment, just trying to maintain power.

I did enjoy the other segments as well and Jon Stewart definitely has a gift when it comes to putting things into perspective. It is interesting to look at the flip side of the coin and wonder what China thinks about us - do they have a Jon Stewart equivalent?

Philip Pan’s analysis on China today was the most interesting part of the video. I liked the comment on how the Chinese government is using the Olympics to help convince its people that a one party system is just as efficient as multi-party governments which was symbolized in the perfect synchronization of the elaborate Olympic ceremonies. Also, Pan brings up a good point that today most Chinese people will allow for a one party system as long as the government allows capitalism since the government has delivered its promise on economic growth. In fact, the clip “chasing the dragon” showed the totalitarian side of the government where they were not even allowed to film in front of Papa Johns. However, Pan also brings up the point that as the country advances economically, their people will expect more out of the government such as environmental awareness and human rights. I believe the Chinese government proved to the world and its people during the Olympics that it has evolved to be more caring of its peoples demands which was shown when the air was actually clean enough for athletic events, which many people doubted would happen.

The interview with Pan struck me because it helped me realize how the government has kept such a tight hold on its people. As long as rapid economic growth and prosperity envelop China, there will not be enough discontent to cause the uprising America is expecting. China’s government has realized that communism is a dead system, but instead of clinging to it like the USSR, they have given the people what they wanted, capitalism. The Chinese government has expertly used capitalism to maintain their power and because of the new prosperity, few in China want to change the status quo.

There’s a difference between the lip synching in the Olympic opening ceremony and that in the Super Bowl. The singer and lip syncher were both children. If officials wanted the world to see a girl who was “flawless in image, internal feeling, and expression”, they should have found a girl who had the visual as well as the vocal qualities they wanted. As for the allegedly underage gymnasts, world class gymnasts commonly start training by kindergarten anyway.

Though I differ on Jon Stewart’s godness, I agree about keeping an open mind on the trip. It would serve me better to observe, figure out what is going on, and try to understand why it is how it is, than it would for me to simply judge what I see against American standards. This will be easier said than done, since I’ll have an internalized American life experience and not be a blank slate.

In the Pan interview, he states the main dilemma of China as being communism vs. capitalism, most notably he said that communism as an ideology is dead. This is not something we hear when speaking about China — it’s always about how China is thriving despite communist beliefs. Another point I found to be true is how the US is using capitalism and trade as a way to assimilate ourselves with China, in a sense making buddies with them before they become the world’s economic bully.

In regards to Prof. Carr’s list above, I completely agree with the whole non-preaching mindset. China is China, we have to accept it. We also must observe it — and as Jon Steward points out, it’s okay to make fun of it as well.

Other than entertainment, I got the most out of his interview with Philip Pan. Philip seems to grasp of the complexities of China. If I am understanding him, it seems like he is saying that the people want capitalism and they are embracing it, since communism has technically died, but the government still seeks control. So it appears as though they are giving the people just enough leash in terms of allowing capitalism, but not so much as to threaten the establishment. He said its as though the government made a deal with the people, ” You can have capitalism as long as we stay in power.” I think that sums it up well.

He also said that the government was using the Olympics to say that a one party system is as effective as a democratic one. To me, that communicates that the government feels threatened that the people are thinking that a democratic system may be more effective, which affirms the first point above.

It makes sense that a government that feels threatened by its own people would make its highest priority unity,as we saw in the earlier blog readings. If the masses can ascribe to that call to Unity, then it would make a person who would feel resistant to that unity feel guilty and may fear being considered an outcast. Quite powerful from a sociological perspective.