Jon Stewart

Last night, Jon Stewart hosted his final Daily Show. After 16 years, he's finally decided that he's done and is stepping aside.

Like many people my age, I first started watching the Daily Show when I was in high school, right when I was trying to make sense of the broader world.. I explored religious viewpoints, political viewpoints, philosophical viewpoints, historical viewpoints, all telling me how others' thought the world worked. Turning on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart told me that, in fact, the world didn't work.

More importantly, he explained why it didn't work and occasionally, how it might be changed so it would work, all through a biting form of sarcastic humor that made it all entertaining and accessible - two qualities all other viewpoints I explored seemed to lack. The Daily Show provided a form of cynical optimism about the world.

I found that utterly compelling. Rather than accept that bad things happen in the world because they're inherently that way, Stewart cynically pointed the finger at people - both individuals and groups - to hold them accountable in some small way for their contribution to the poor state of the world. And then he pushed them to change, to be better, because ultimately, it's not about good people vs bad people, but about good ideas, attitudes, and actions vs bad ideas, attitudes, and actions.

I can't say how happy I am that in his final monologue, Stewart talked about Bullshit. Bullshit is everywhere, and we all spew it, though some more than others. Bullshit comes in many different forms and exists for a near-infinite number of reasons. Bullshit takes the truth and dirties it, buries it, disguises it. Bullshit builds because we actively produce it ourselves, because we become complicit when others produce it, and because we become complacent about clearing it out. Yet when we, together, make an honest effort to reduce the harmful Bullshit we collectively produce and to clear out some of the Bullshit already lying around, we can find some real, meaningful answers to the challenges facing this planet. And maybe, just maybe, we can move forward.

This is ostensibly a blog about medicine and healthcare, so I'd be neglectful not to mention all the Bullshit that exists in medicine and as a healthcare practitioner, gets thrown your way on a regular basis. Bullshit comes from colleagues, coworkers, students, administrators, governments, insurers, researchers, families and from patients themselves. However, just as with everything else in life, there are ways through the Bullshit. I see many people in healthcare get beaten down by the crap thrown their way, but I also see many push through it, past it, above it. Those who seem to thrive in medicine despite the endless stream of nonsensical Bullshit are the ones who still have hope that the system can be improved and are actively working to make that a reality. In most cases, simply pointing out that the Bullshit exists makes a huge difference, because change happens when enough people believe it should.

As Stewart closed with: "The best defense against Bullshit is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something". Couldn't have said it any better.