( CNN ) Quick : Guess how old Jon Stewart is ? I 'll give you two hints : . Forty-ish , you say ? Forty-five , maybe ? Nope , 52 . And is n't it incredible that someone that age -- or , anyone of any age , really -- could become the countercultural voice of multiple generations , from the millennials to the boomers . Stewart announced on Tuesday his departure as host of Comedy Central 's `` The Daily Show . '' Incredibly , he 'd recently started his 17th year on the show . In his signature Gen X-adjacent style , he joked that that was the longest he 'd held any single job -- `` by 16 years and five months . '' It 's not like Stewart 's dead . Or even gone from the show yet . That may not happen until later much later this year , he said . I feel no need to eulogize him . But the thought of nightly cable TV without him is a bit stunning -- for me , age 32 , and for people of all ages , really , who get frustrated with the stilted earnestness of old-timey news programs , and who , likewise , are turned off by televised shouting matches and hype . He 's a transcendent figure , in that sense . Someone who makes sense to the Snapchat set . And someone my dad might talk about over a round of golf . He 'll be missed by everyone but the 2016 Republican candidates . On Wednesday morning , I asked my Facebook friends and followers what he meant to them . Several , including a former classmate , said he helped them process the 9/11 terrorist attack . `` ( W ) hen I was a terrified college freshman on 9/11 , Jon Stewart 's was the voice that made sense , '' wrote Chelsea Samuel . A Facebook user identified as Daniel Thomas Bailey posted a photo of Stewart visiting his base in Afghanistan a decade later , in 2011 . `` His news is honest . He 's honest , '' wrote a woman identified as Samina Hope . `` Which is so incredibly rare in this world now . He has a genuine heart for humanity . His broadcast of a little girl with autism who he afforded the opportunity to sing with Katy Perry , will forever bring tears to my eyes . '' The satirical form Stewart pioneered will , of course , live on . It may well survive in Stewart 's own work . In his farewell , Stewart said he was going to spend time eating meals with his family -- `` who , '' he said , `` I have heard from multiple sources , are lovely people . '' He also left open the idea that he could work again . `` I do n't have any specific plans , '' he said . `` I 've got a lot of ideas . '' But the form surely lives on in his impressive cast of alums . John Oliver 's HBO show `` Last Week Tonight '' is among the finest , smartest ( and awesomely angriest ) pieces of social criticism that exists today . Just watch him skewer the Miss America pageant . This is sharp investigative journalism , made funny and relevant . Stephen Colbert , meanwhile , is about to get a higher profile on the `` Late Show , '' and we can only hope that he makes that program a little edgier and more interesting than it was under the sleepy-eyed watch of David Letterman . Plus , there 's always an upside to change . I hope that Stewart 's departure from `` The Daily Show '' may usher in a new era -- in which the viewpoints of a younger generation are represented not just by old-ish white men but by actual younger people . Hopefully , too , the post-Stewart era will include more women , more racial minorities and more LGBT people . This country laughs with Stewart , Oliver and Colbert . We love them . But they do n't really represent all of us . Those critiques will have their day , surely . Today , however , I think it 's important to celebrate the political satire that Stewart ushered in . We 've all gotten a good laugh out of it . And , importantly , our democracy is better for it . Stewart , after all , was n't just in it for the jokes . He asked tough questions of politicians . Found ways to make uninterested people care about politics . And he did it with a zany , effortless wit . Instead of a `` moment of zen , '' the odd-ball segment that usually concludes `` The Daily Show , '' I 'll leave you instead with this clip of Stewart 's farewell to his live audience . When you hear the crowd moan , that 's because they realize , too , that he was the voice of so many generations . And , thankfully , his was a voice that did n't take itself too seriously .
Jon Stewart : John Sutter is the voice of millennials as well as baby boomers . He will be missed as he departs from his post at ` Last Week Tonight '' But hopefully this will usher in a more-diverse era of Republican satire , CNN says .