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Stephen Colbert will return to doing episodes of “The Colbert Report” from his usual New York studio on Monday night, riding high from the resounding success of his week of shows in Iraq.  Traditional media like the New York Times and LA Times praised the way he walked the line between being funny and challenging his guests (as well as some military policies, including a ballsy segment about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) while remaining respectful to the troops and deferential to their service.

However, while the troops in the audience seemed genuinely entertained, I was curious what the rest of the military thought of Colbert’s visit.  And, by and large, they didn’t.  I checked out about a dozen different military blogs, and only the well-regarded Blackfive mentioned Colbert this week, calling him a “true American patriot” (the comments from there varied from those who watched and thought he was funny to those who didn’t watch him and tut-tutted their preconceived notions).

However, the words that I agreed with most — and it pains me to say this — came from my least favorite online magazine, Slate:

He reminded his core audience of jaded college-boy liberals that the soldiers they scoff at as automatons are their peers. Nothing unites a group like laughter. In his clowning, Colbert performed an act of patriotism far beyond politicians’ rote statements about honoring the troops.

As a college-boy liberal/automaton soldier myself, that particular disconnect in American society has always pissed me off.  A college degree and an urban lifestyle doesn’t make someone any more right in their beliefs than someone with less education and a lower salary.  At the same time, many servicemen’s willful anti-intellectualism mars the nation’s impression of their hard work and the sacrifices they make.  There’s only one America, and it would do well to adopt Colbert’s best traits: the courage to question the status quo, and the ability to laugh at oneself.