I think it's essential to maintain a sense of humour, whatever's going on. Perhaps it's most important to be able to laugh at yourself, but satire/ laughing at the powerful is also important. On the other hand, we need to be able to sit with the sadness as well, and acknowledge it. The last 40 years, for example, have been a tragedy for the people of Afghanistan as they've suffered through one war after another. They've been pawns at the mercy of much more powerful countries. Now they are being dragged back into yet another nightmare. It's hard to know what to do except watch in horror.
People sang happy songs in the air raid shelters during the London Blitz. A skeptical historian, Peter Stansky, wondered whether that really happened, or whether it was a myth that propaganda created. He found that after the first two days of horror, they became fatalistic. For better or for worse, survivors can get used to anything. But right now, that's hard to grasp.
Like others have mentioned, levity and humor during dark times can and have helped people throughout history. It’s also important to acknowledge and not suppress or ignore reality, but humor can lift spirits when you or those around you might otherwise fall into despair. Humor can also make certain important topics accessible to folks who otherwise would not pay them any attention.
I wrote about such an instance in my article about U.S. campaign finance laws and how Stephen Colbert covered the Citizens United SCOTUS decision. While most people who don’t pay attention to politics would not have given a Supreme Court decision a second look – despite this decision having such an immense, lasting impact on the U.S. and, in many ways, the entire world because of U.S. foreign policy – I know people who watched the Colbert Report and learned while laughing.
For example, when forming his Super PAC and related 501(c)(4) “Spooky” PAC, Colbert did this bit where he would show what a simple piece of paper would make: “So without this, I am transparent. With this, I am opaque. Without it, you get to know. With it, you go to hell!” He brought this type of humor and satire to shine a light on the dark money influencing U.S. politics, showing how profits often take precedence over people under this disgraceful system, and provided a sense of gallows humor for those of us paying close attention to an otherwise depressing state of affairs.
There's something deeply human about laughing in the face of a bleak situation. Crying, laughing, and often both laughing and crying are all you can do when faced with terrible things you cannot control.
When I had kidney cancer, I named my tumor Mortimer to amuse my children and to try and keep us all from being paralyzed by fear.
I think it's essential to maintain a sense of humour, whatever's going on. Perhaps it's most important to be able to laugh at yourself, but satire/ laughing at the powerful is also important. On the other hand, we need to be able to sit with the sadness as well, and acknowledge it. The last 40 years, for example, have been a tragedy for the people of Afghanistan as they've suffered through one war after another. They've been pawns at the mercy of much more powerful countries. Now they are being dragged back into yet another nightmare. It's hard to know what to do except watch in horror.
People sang happy songs in the air raid shelters during the London Blitz. A skeptical historian, Peter Stansky, wondered whether that really happened, or whether it was a myth that propaganda created. He found that after the first two days of horror, they became fatalistic. For better or for worse, survivors can get used to anything. But right now, that's hard to grasp.
Like others have mentioned, levity and humor during dark times can and have helped people throughout history. It’s also important to acknowledge and not suppress or ignore reality, but humor can lift spirits when you or those around you might otherwise fall into despair. Humor can also make certain important topics accessible to folks who otherwise would not pay them any attention.
I wrote about such an instance in my article about U.S. campaign finance laws and how Stephen Colbert covered the Citizens United SCOTUS decision. While most people who don’t pay attention to politics would not have given a Supreme Court decision a second look – despite this decision having such an immense, lasting impact on the U.S. and, in many ways, the entire world because of U.S. foreign policy – I know people who watched the Colbert Report and learned while laughing.
For example, when forming his Super PAC and related 501(c)(4) “Spooky” PAC, Colbert did this bit where he would show what a simple piece of paper would make: “So without this, I am transparent. With this, I am opaque. Without it, you get to know. With it, you go to hell!” He brought this type of humor and satire to shine a light on the dark money influencing U.S. politics, showing how profits often take precedence over people under this disgraceful system, and provided a sense of gallows humor for those of us paying close attention to an otherwise depressing state of affairs.
There's something deeply human about laughing in the face of a bleak situation. Crying, laughing, and often both laughing and crying are all you can do when faced with terrible things you cannot control.
When I had kidney cancer, I named my tumor Mortimer to amuse my children and to try and keep us all from being paralyzed by fear.