Stop Pretending

Stephen Colbert's Two Words About Gun Violence: Stop Pretending

Colbert looked directly into the camera. He didn't smile.

By John Hendrickson

Stephen Colbert began his Friday night broadcast with a meditation on the word "pretending." Colbert built his career on pretending to be someone else; he's behind that desk right now in a historic theater with his name on the marquee because he is so good at pretending. But acting, of course, is different than ignoring. Being willfully blind and shutting oneself off from reality is a disease. Which is what the United States has done in response to mass shootings. Colbert's old boss, Jon Stewart, gave a similar speech after the Charleston shooting. President Obama offered a version of this sentiment in response to Oregon earlier this week. The influencers, it seems, are beyond the point of being pissed off, and now feel an unhealthy mix of cynicism and shame. Are we really that stupid so as not to evolve? "One of the definitions of insanity is changing nothing," Colbert began. He paused an extra beat for dramatic emphasis. He stared directly into the camera, talking to us, both individually at home and as a country at large. Talking to the millions more who will watch this on YouTube the next morning and the days after. Speaking to someone, anyone, who will listen. "And then pretending that something will change​."