Satire: America (The Book); A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction

THE BARE FACTS

Title: America (The Book); A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction
Authors: Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin, David Javerbaum, and the staff of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Publisher: Warner Books
Date of Publication: 2004
Pages: 244
Grade That Means Nothing Coming From Me: A

SO BASICALLY, IT’S ABOUT… How the American system of government works, with factoids and discussion questions. (Some elements may not be entirely factual.)

WHY’D YOU WANNA READ THAT? Because The Daily Show is pretty damn funny. And because reading the paper is just too depressing.

AND HOW’D THAT WORK OUT FOR YOU? The key to this book is in the subtitle: “Democracy Inaction.” It should be no secret by now that Stewart and his cohorts believe democracy is an institution that has miraculously persisted in spite of the miserable performance of its caretakers. Every element of the American system of government is dissected in terms of the basic facts, and the truths that would be facts if we were honest about it.

One of the more overlooked elements of America (The Book) is the way it brilliantly lampoons the format of the modern high school textbook. The designers have noticed the way that current textbooks have taken their layout cues from USA Today, with factoids, pull-out quotes, and graphics galore, all competing in a desperate attempt to keep a disinterested high school student awake. Stewart – who shall henceforth stand as the designated representative of the team of writers, so that I don’t have to keep referring to them as “Stewart and his team of writers” – doesn’t miss a single target, from the oversimplified “what you’ll learn” synopsis at the beginning of the book to the non sequitur discussion questions at the end of each chapter. This is a well-written book, but it’s also a real triumph for the design team.

The book does bring to mind another favorite of mine that lampoons the dry and intentionally vague tones of the textbook: Dave Barry Slept Here, the popular humorist’s skewering of over 200 years of history. There is definitely a difference in tone. Whereas Barry is really poking fun at a populace ignorant of history, Stewart and Company are downright angry. They lash into the forces of self-interest and pomposity at every turn. This comes to a boil in a chapter devoted to the American mass media, which actually has to be re-started because of the despair and vitriol that surface in the first attempt. History tells us that the best satirists – Swift, Dafoe, Carlin – channel their anger into cutting comedy. Stewart carries on this tradition proudly.

It is inevitable in a book like this that favorite jokes will stand out. These jokes will, almost without exception, completely fail to translate when retold. So suffice it to say that my favorite jokes are a pair of two-page spreads done up in the visual style of The Sims. They come out of nowhere, are not explained any further than to identify various elements, and are rich with tiny jokes that will probably not be appreciated by 90% of the book’s readers. Mazel tov.

SHOULD I READ THIS? If you are a fan of our current president, be aware that your man takes it on the chin pretty regularly in this book, so if you don’t have a sense of humor about that kind of thing, this is probably not going to be a very entertaining way to spend your time. Truth be told, if you’re a fan of anything related to American civics, you will probably get smacked around a little bit. The book skewers everyone, from Thucydides on down. But despite the frustration and the anger that are clearly bubbling beneath the surface, all satire is really based on hope. The hope for better days. One always appreciates a book that you can open to any page and get a laugh. This is such a book. Read, laugh, and restore your hope.

Shane Wilson is a writer and contributing editor to The Greenroom. Shane's previous BookADay book reviews include Silas Marner and The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time.