A thought experiment:I must confess that I'm more of a Stephen Colbert fan than I am a fan of John Stewart, but his commentary the evening of the tragedy in Arizona was spot on, and it frankly should have embarrassed the politicians on the left and on the right who immediately tried to make political hay out of what happened, and who are still attempting to weave a simplistic narrative of cause and effect, or dismissing any possibly good insights from others who do not share their views in order to promote their myopic view of the world. They are, as Stewart says, looking for that tidbit of information that will exonerate or implicate one side or the other. (I think a near-sighted view of reality is intrinsic to committed partisans on both sides of the political aisle.) But leave it to a comedian to put a significant event into profound perspective.
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We are surprised that someone who makes jokes for a living can be so profound, but in this post I want to suggest that perhaps the reason so many are unable to cut through the clutter in the complex "ecosphere" of society to make sense of a tragedy is that so many cannot see the comedy in their own view of the world, in their own politics, in the politicians they support, and the ideas they embrace. Thus, because they take themselves and their convictions so seriously, when the truly serious happens, they are almost literally unable to make sense of it. The best comedians see the comical in all areas of life. Now, I am not suggesting that there is anything humorous about what happened in Tucson on Monday. What I am saying is that for people like John Stewart who are able to make fun, not only of the ideas they disagree with, but also of the perspectives and people that they embrace in support, are able to see the world in a profoundly serious way precisely because they can see that so many things in life and in politics are truly funny.
How many on the left howl with laughter every time a comedian makes fun of George W. Bush, but cannot even work themselves into a mild chuckle when comic humor is directed against Barack Obama? How many on the right laugh when Barack Obama is the subject of late night comedy, but sit there in silence when former President Bush is the object of laughter? My guess is that such pundits as Sean Hannity and Chris Matthews and Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann have so missed the reasons for and the meaning of Monday's tragedy is quite simply that they take themselves and their politics far too seriously; and because of that they have only scorn for those on the other side of the political aisle who do not embrace what they believe is the pure and unadulterated gospel of their politics.
I am sure some who are reading this are quite skeptical of my connection between humor and serious political and social and cultural analysis. For those who may question the seriousness of my thinking on this, let me appeal to someone whose profound reflective credentials are unquestioned-- C.S. Lewis. Stephen Webb writes the following:
When one of the animals [in Narnia] says something silly, Aslan doesn't mind. "For jokes as well as justice," he says "come in with speech." This is really a remarkable statement. Indeed, justice and humor seem to be inextricably related. Justice is the harmony of society, but such harmony is impossible without humor. Aslan could have chastised the perky jackdaw who had spoken out of turn, but that would have instituted a hierarchy of law based on fear and mistrust. Only if we can laugh at each other without resorting to violence can we learn to get along as a community. The acceptance of a joke, then, is the beginning of justice, just as justice provides the condition without which it's impossible to laugh freely. We should remember, for example, how humorless Russian communism was. A society that lacks justice is a society of fear. In such societies, jokes are no laughing matter.*
The problem is that those who cannot see the humor in themselves and their view of the world (including politics) end up seeing comedy only in "the other." Thus, they not only exempt themselves from critical and fair scrutiny, they have no concern for fairness, for justice, in their critique of those with whom they vehemently disagree. Indeed their political vision has become so near-sighted, they cannot even see how unfair and unjust they are in their scathing criticisms. Like Russian communism their only task is to strike fear in the hearts of their listeners in attempting to demonstrate that the tragedy in Arizona is one more reason for people to be afraid of those persons whose politics are other. In making their politics a religion their main objective is to subject those on the other side of the aisle to Inquisition by editorial in order to purge the heretics from our midst. Because too many on both sides of politics cannot see the humor in their own views and who cannot laugh at the politicians they support, they protest too much about things, and in so doing they regularly miss the profound point. In their inability to laugh at themselves they undermine the necessary justice they and we owe to others in being fair in our critique even though we disagree.
The ability to laugh at oneself also demonstrates a healthy sense of self-confidence. Both President Obama and former President Bush have demonstrated the ability to laugh at themselves. Perhaps their supporters can learn from their example. Perhaps then, our political discourse will become more fair, more just, and more humorously harmonious.
Anyone who has any thoughts on this thought experiment is welcome to comment.
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*Stephen H. Webb, "Aslan's Voice: C.S. Lewis and the Magic of Sound," in The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy. eds. G. Bassham and J. Walls (Chicago: Open Court, 2005), p. 11.
5 comments:
I saw that episode and was impressed by the seriousness of his opening monologue to the horrific event. But Stewart knew that the comedy that would come next and in the next few days about this event was not nearly as important as what had happened. He didn't want to downplay the event and that is something I really liked. But at the same time, laughter often times gets us through difficult circumstances. I like your thoughts and wish the extreme left and right could read and contemplate what you just said.
"Laughter often times gets us through difficult circumstances."-- How true.
Thank you for sharing the Jon Stewart piece - I had not seen it. It was deeply felt and honest, which nearly brought tears to my eyes.
"I want to suggest that perhaps the reason so many are unable to cut through the clutter in the complex "ecosphere" of society to make sense of a tragedy is that so many cannot see the comedy in their own view of the world, in their own politics, in the politicians they support, and the ideas they embrace. Thus, because they take themselves and their convictions so seriously, when the truly serious happens, they are almost literally unable to make sense of it."
I cite that quote in full because it well said Allan, and can think of settings in which I would like to share it, giving you full credit when I do of course. :-) At many levels Jon Stewart is a comedian and a humorist (which I think is different that a teller of jokes), but I think Stewart has a great sense of the place and power of humor as you have described and because of that sense uses it more effectively than most political commentators. Humor (which I think is different that comedy) turns a perspective around, and sometimes on its head, and invites us to look at it and draw other conclusions. That is very different than just stating a flat conclusion. That's not always easy when the perspective challenged is our own and one we hold dear, but the humor invites us, one, to have a good laugh, and two, see things we might have never seen before. Thanks for sharing a delightful and insightful piece.
Gary,
Thanks for your comments. I like your distinction between humor and comedy.
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