"Saudagie" Trevor Noah: - an example of presence and use of self in challenging times

First, I feel that I am one of many who have the "oh no" response to the news that Trevor Noah, the comedian/social commentator who, for seven years, led "The Daily Show" has announced his intentions to "leave" the show. True, at the beginning of his tenure, I had my doubts that he could engage our head & hearts the way that Jon Stewart, his predecessor had done. What I came to learn was that he did as well, and even better by some standards, by using his outsider status as biracial South African to help "us" in North America see that our unpredictable times feel less dismal & "isolating by combining domestic strife with what is happening beyond our borders".**. By connecting our thinking to the rest of the world, he enlarged our understanding of ourselves that "We" weren't the only ones to experience volatility and more than that , we were not alone.

Trevor, has a presence that he understands and understands how to use. When the pandemic forced him, and all late night show hosts to stream their shows from their home, Trevor sent a powerful message of brotherhood to millions of young black men by hosting his show in a black hoodie. He wove in all the symbols that needed liberation and successfully spoke to issues of foreign conflict, colonialism, global affairs, the price of bias in sexism and homophobia and most poignantly about racism. That he could make us laugh through it all was and is a measure of higher level capacity to see human pain as an opportunity for understanding and healing. Indeed humor and the need for humor is making a sort of "comeback" as we have to realize that humor can provide a space where trust and connection is created. Humor reduces the neurohormones that ignite a fear response and instead promote oxytocin and other uplifting hormones. "We" need that kind of humor that is not based on meanness but the juxtaposition of behavior with a contracting perspective that allows all of us to embrace the foibles of human nature with the hope that uplifts all possibility.

"Saudagie" is a word in the Portuguese language which means-"I am already missing you". Though I am not Portuguese, I have adopted this word for when it feels hard to say good-bye. So, I say "saudagie" dear Trevor Noah, you will shine wherever you go-but your impact will continue to live on.

*"Born a Crime", by Trevor Noah, 2016

** Trevor Noah's exit.." Lorraine Ali, Sept. 30, 2022 L.A. TIMES