Defining Bravery Down

I think some American liberals are a little too quick to stick the label "brave" on expressing minority-but-mainstream opinions. For example, Jeff Fecke thinks Jon Stewart is "very brave" for doing a bit on the Daily Show criticizing the fact that politicians on TV are all taking Israel's side in the current war. It reminds me of all the people who pat themselves on the back for being so brave about opposing the Iraq war back in 2003. I admit my perception of the Iraq debate may be a little skewed since at the time I was at Clark University, where the student body is divided between the Marxists and the people that think the Marxists are right-wing reactionaries. But really, what risks is Stewart running my making some mildly-more-pro-Palestinian commentary? Maybe he'll be criticized by some pundits -- most of whom are right-wingers who didn't like him to begin with. If he's still got his show after all the vicious stuff he's said about the Republicans over the past 8 years, I can't see how this will be the thing that leads to some sort of actual retalliation. I doubt someone will so much as key his car over this.

(Note: Comments addressing the substance of the Israel-Palestine conflict will be considered off-topic. There are millions of other places on the internet to rehash that.)