The world has Trump fatigue, and yet we just can’t stop talking about him.
True, there’s no ignoring the president of the United States, but as Jon Stewart made clear during a recent visit to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, it’s time for the media to dump Trump and start highlighting other important issues. That’s exactly what Last Week Tonight did this episode, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
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That’s not to say that John Oliver outright ignored Trump. It would be impossible not to mention his latest unproven allegations against the Obama administration. But instead of dedicating the entire show to the same Trump complaints we’ve heard time and time again, Oliver highlighted an issue that we’ve been far too quick to forget: the horrible abuses of human rights still taking place in Tibet.
As Last Week Tonight points out, Tibet was a pet cause of celebrities in the 1990s, but has since been largely forgotten. This is a shame, as the region has one of the world’s worst rankings in terms of human rights and freedom. In fact, a recent Freedom House ranking placed Tibet below North Korea, which as we all know, has an appalling human rights record.
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In an effort to learn more about the situation in Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s efforts to remedy it, Oliver actually met with the spiritual leader for a fascinating interview. The discussion covered a lot of ground, with the Dalai Lama mentioning everything from how he’s perceived as a demon in China to his success in weaning the Mongolians off vodka. It was an amusing interview and exactly what we needed to see after a crazy week of White House antics.
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It’s great to see John Oliver continue to fulfill his promise of shining a light on forgotten issues. This is certainly not an easy thing to do in the age of Trump, when seemingly every media outlet prioritizes outrage at the president. But as Oliver reminds us, there is much more going on in the world than a disastrous presidency; we cannot let Trump and his ilk distract us from the many pressing issues that require our attention.
What do you think of John Oliver’s effort to shift the focus of his show away from President Trump’s antics? Comment and share your opinion below.
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