Well, This Colbert Bit Just Hit Extra Hard

By Andrew Sanford | TV | January 8, 2021 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | January 8, 2021 |

Ouch. As the dust has begun to settle, after a group of domestic terrorists stormed the U.S. Capitol Building on Wednesday at the behest of our soon to be former president, it’s become important to look at things from an outside perspective. What do we look like to other countries? Boris Johnson called what was happening “disgraceful.” … BORIS JOHNSON. Needless to say, with our country facing mounting criticism, the newest opening segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert hit extra hard.

It begins with news clips. Reports that world leaders are condemning what happened. Then it pivots to a press conference with Kim Jong-Un. What’s the world’s shortest dictator doing? Warning his citizens to steer clear of the United States. Like some of the best jokes, it made me reflect… and scream.

The best aspect of the opening segment, aside from Jong-Un at one point requesting that Ted Cruz be fed to the dogs, is that it feels so frigging real. On Wednesday, we became a prime example of everything we claim to condemn: insurrection, corrupt leaders, government-sponsored violence, it’s all there! So, it’s easy to believe that someone like Kim Jong-Un could criticize us, and we couldn’t easily say he’s wrong and that friggin’ hurts.

We need to be challenged with these points of view and satirical criticisms. And we will surely be bombarded with them for years to come. Hopefully, it will inspire change in us as a nation. The snag is, that only happens if we’re willing to look at a sketch like this with healthy self-reflection. Spoiler alert: We’re not great at that.