In April, Jon Stewart utilized one of his initial return monologues on The Daily Show to express some candid reflections on the conflict in the Middle East. Now, five months later, with the conflict continuing to expand, he has provided an update.
Stewart begins by playing a segment he refers to as "the golden soundbite" to illustrate how complex the situation has become: a CNN clip featuring journalist Barak Ravid discussing the Israeli government’s policy of "de-escalation through escalation."
"Or, as that is sometimes called: War," remarked an exasperated Stewart. "I mean, do you even hear yourself?" He then notes that the phrase "de-escalation through escalation" seems familiar, picking up a copy of George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 and flipping through it.
"My God, there have to be other ways of achieving de-escalation without all this respectful exchange of missiles," Stewart continues. "Historically, that part is generally followed by years of sorrow and bloodshed."