Fans of Dave Barry in Washington D.C. are in for a treat: the Pulitzer-Prize winning political satirist will be at Politics and Prose tomorrow night (Friday) to promote Insane City, his first novel in more than a decade.
Barry spoke to Moment Magazine recently about what the role of satire in politics today as part of our symposium that featured an all-star lineup including David Brooks, Barney Frank and Andy Borowitz. As Barry told us, “I’ve viewed our political system as a form of entertainment for a long time. When I go to the political conventions, I look around at all the real reporters and think, ‘What the hell are they writing? How can they possibly make this appear to be serious?’ To be ponderous about it, most people have a pretty strong sense of skepticism about the people who claim to want to run the country for the benefit of the people. Skepticism is a good thing for the most part, and the tendency to mock the people posturing for us is probably pretty healthy. I’m always amazed that people can look at it any other way. Satire has probably gotten a little more vicious, immediate, constant and more partisan than it used to be. There was a time when political satirists tended to make fun of the whole process of politics, and that’s where I still feel I am. Political satirists aren’t trying to do good–it’s just better than having a real job.”
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