(no subject)
Today I went to a patriotic band concert. And you know what they played? Sousa's Liberty Bell March. For which it is impossible for a Monty Python fan to listen to without giggling. And my brain said, "That's a bit inappropriate, given that today is Nine Eleven." But then another part of my brain said, "well, okay, yeah, but do you suppose terrorists allow awesome things like Monty Python to exist?"
Freedom has many hallmarks, but a sense of humor is one of the most telling. We make jokes about politics. Only free countries can do that. Because only people who are confident that they face no backlash can poke fun at things and people.
It is with sadness and trepidation that I learn how many things we can't joke about anymore. Can't joke about bombs in an airport, for one. Okay, I understand the reasons and all, but when did we lose the ability to tell the difference between idiots who actually would kill people and an honest joke? The list is growing of things that are Not Funny, except when spoken by Known Comedians in a Comic Setting, and even then only if you've already developed a reputation for Shocking Humor. We've forgotten that humor is how we deal with that which scares us, with that which we don't understand. We've forgotten that humor makes the world easier and friendlier to live in. We're letting our skins grow thin and forgetting the fun of teasing between friends.
Shortly after Nine Eleven, someone did a little flash animation to the tune of the Banana Boat Song, about dropping bombs on the Taliban. It was exactly what was needed. We felt helpless, scared, and wounded. To make a joke about it lightened the load. It lifted our faces for a bit, saying "it's not over yet!" and reminding us that life would go on. Terrorism exists to make us fear, to create respect and obedience through coercion, and the breaking of our will. Humor is the spikiness that fights back, the flexibility that won't be broken, and a powerful medicine for fear. It's possible to laugh and be afraid at the same time. But you'll be slightly less afraid for having laughed.
The things we fear we mock. The things we love we tease. Between those two points, we look at the world through brighter eyes, twisting it into funny shapes, and enjoying what we find.
Freedom has many hallmarks, but a sense of humor is one of the most telling. We make jokes about politics. Only free countries can do that. Because only people who are confident that they face no backlash can poke fun at things and people.
It is with sadness and trepidation that I learn how many things we can't joke about anymore. Can't joke about bombs in an airport, for one. Okay, I understand the reasons and all, but when did we lose the ability to tell the difference between idiots who actually would kill people and an honest joke? The list is growing of things that are Not Funny, except when spoken by Known Comedians in a Comic Setting, and even then only if you've already developed a reputation for Shocking Humor. We've forgotten that humor is how we deal with that which scares us, with that which we don't understand. We've forgotten that humor makes the world easier and friendlier to live in. We're letting our skins grow thin and forgetting the fun of teasing between friends.
Shortly after Nine Eleven, someone did a little flash animation to the tune of the Banana Boat Song, about dropping bombs on the Taliban. It was exactly what was needed. We felt helpless, scared, and wounded. To make a joke about it lightened the load. It lifted our faces for a bit, saying "it's not over yet!" and reminding us that life would go on. Terrorism exists to make us fear, to create respect and obedience through coercion, and the breaking of our will. Humor is the spikiness that fights back, the flexibility that won't be broken, and a powerful medicine for fear. It's possible to laugh and be afraid at the same time. But you'll be slightly less afraid for having laughed.
The things we fear we mock. The things we love we tease. Between those two points, we look at the world through brighter eyes, twisting it into funny shapes, and enjoying what we find.