Satire is an extremely powerful tool employed by writers to effectively communicate large-scale social problems in a format that is appealing and easy to comprehend for the reader. Satire has had a long-standing role throughout history, since beginning of the 2nd millennium Bc in ancient Egypt. Through successive generations, Satire transcended through many different civilizations including Greeks, Romans, and Medieval Europe. In the 17th and 18 century, there was a large intellectual movement occurring in Britain, created by political tensions. During this movement, many famous writers began to use satire as a weapon to discuss their grievances and create public awareness over important issues. These writers aimed to bring attention to social ills such as poverty and hunger. Johnathan Swift, arguably one of the most popular satirists of all time, was a prominent figure during this time period. Born in Ireland, Swift was forced to leave to England due to poor and unsafe conditions created by callous policies imposed by the English government. These policies created a climate of significant economic disparity between Irish peasants/farmers and the elites who were draining the Irish economy by funneling all profits and resources into England. The cruel and unjust economic policies created widespread poverty throughout Ireland, leading to several famines and mortality due to hunger. Swift’s legacy as a writer had a lasting imprint on English society and future satirists who continued to use satire as an effective literary tool. Though satire has gone through many phases of evolution and witnessed unique social problems during different historical eras, it has largely remained the same at the core of its foundation. Contemporary satire, has taken on many more forms than simply writing. Politically charged television shows such as The Colbert Report on Comedy Central have critiqued several political issues by playing devil’s advocate and defending logical fallacies. By defending logical fallacies in a satirical form, Colbert is able to effectively show the absurdity of an argument. Though set in vastly different time periods, both Johnathan Swift’s Modest Proposal and Colbert Report, attempt to reach across all aisles, combining humor and implicit messages to create large-scale public awareness of important issues to disaffected members of their society.

Johnathan Swift’s Modest proposal was set during the 17th century, a time period in which Ireland was at an economic rock bottom. There was rampant poverty, malnutrition, and hunger. For centuries, the Norman invaders from England had attempted to conquer Ireland. The English used strict authoritarian practices to ensure control over Ireland, including the forceful religious conversion of Irish Catholics to Protestantism. Many Irish were forced to abandon their religious practices in order to avoid stiff economic penalties from the English.  Johnathan Swift’s Modest Proposal was an essay targeted towards the sentiment of wealthy unassuming English landlords who possessed vast tracts of land in Ireland. These rich landlords shared an extreme contempt and disgust for Irish peasants. They viewed them as nuisance and burden to society. Because of the economic crisis and overpopulation occurring during this time period, Swift noted several ludicrous propositions in his essay, including the sale of young infant children and cannibalism as a method to generate revenue for poor Irish peasants while simultaneously aiding with population control. Swift used extremely hyperbolic exaggerations in his form of satire. This satire was seen as an affront to many people at the time; ironically, this very offensive quality is what made it so popular and widely disseminated throughout England. Swift’s mention of using ripe children at a young age for nourishment of the country’s starving population and the use for skin as a commodity for making gloves was dismissed by several of his contemporaries as being outright bizarre. However, by mocking the British and their tyrannical control, Swift was able to raise awareness for the disenfranchised segments of society in the early 18th century Ireland.

Stephen Colbert’s Colbert Report also uses satire but in a form which is far less grotesque. Colbert raises awareness over issues such as the misappropriation of funds by the US government or the inherent corruption in the political system. He uses a series of monologues, interviews, and various other schemes to convey his message. Many contemporaries find his humor to be slightly abrasive, but this has not forced him to withdraw his television. His political show has gained notoriety on Comedy Central and is among the most watched programs. His use of satire and deadpan humor are within certain boundaries and limits. Unlike Swift, Colbert has not proposed any heinous ideas as cannibalism. Colbert’s style of satire often involves him bringing a guest to the show (typically an influential figure in politics) and mimicking their talking points, until the conversation warps into a strangely funny dialogue. Colbert has gone to extreme lengths of satire as well. In 2007, prior to the election, Colbert remarked he would run for president. Although this bizarre idea never came to fruition, it was intended as prank to mock the political system in America. Cobert ran under both Democratic and Republic platforms (Seelye). His choice of running mates was equally bizarre, including staunchly Republican governor Mike Huckabee and the President of Russia, Vladamir Putin. Another specific example of Colbert’s satirical humor was a famous letter he sent to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a famous radio personality who is known for making Bible-supported arguments against homosexuality. In the letter, Colbert pretends to agree with many of Laura’s points and invokes several strict and vitriolic passages from the bible to showcase Laura’s absurdity as well as her selective cherry-picking of only certain passages from the Bible that cater to her own interests, failing to acknowledge all rest (Mikkelson). An example of this was his his mention of leviticus 21:20. Colbert stated: “Bibles states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here? Colbert raised this question along with a slew of other questions goofy and silly questions to further incite Dr. Schlessinger. Colbert has effectively highlighted many fallacies in the arguments of politicians and celebrities in this manner. 

Although Colbert Report and Swift’s modern proposal take place in vastly different time periods, they both effectively make strong contentions through humor. Many people who do not understand Colbert’s satire will not amused by his quips and jokes, the same way many of those who read Modest Proposal will react if they are uninformed of the historical context of when it was written. 
