Comedy in politics today
Lately, a few people have asked me: “Is the current political climate good for comedy?” Honestly—probably not. How funny does life feel when it’s biting your leg like a pit bull?
It’s not exactly the moment you want someone to walk up and say, “Hey, wanna hear a joke?”
You’d probably respond, “I’m a bit busy at the moment.”
And the dog? “Grrr, chomp, rip.”
Right now, people are being detained and deported to horrific places, online discourse is toxic, our president keeps getting stranger, the stock market bounces around like a rubber ball—and it’s been raining non-stop.
The other day I asked Dede to check something on my back. “Looks like moss,” she said. Great. At this rate, Noah’s Ark might dock in my backyard any minute.
In desperate need of a laugh, I wandered into the Kilton Library, hoping to find something uplifting. Bitter humor was everywhere, but I wanted light, uplifting, laugh-out-loud stuff.
A David Sedaris essay collection did the trick. Within minutes I let out a laugh.
“Are you okay?” Dede asked.
“That was a laugh.”
“Sounded like a chicken bone stuck in your throat.”
That’s how long it had been since I’d genuinely laughed—she didn’t even recognize it.
Then I turned to Will Rogers for comfort. You don’t hear his name much these days, but in the 1920s and ‘30s, some said he was the most famous person in the world. Maybe not in Azerbaijan, but still.
Born in Oklahoma, he worked his way up from cowboy rope tricks at rodeos to vaudeville, silent films, talkies, and thousands of newspaper columns. Unlike today’s influencers, he didn’t go viral by dancing half-naked—he earned it.
His humor aged, sure—no one jokes about Calvin Coolidge anymore—but his voice was warm, ironic, and gentle. He started many of his columns with “All I know is what I read in the papers,” lasso in hand. That makes my journalist heart happy.
He’d riff through the headlines with a twinkle in his eye. One of his most famous quotes?
“I never met a man I didn’t like.”
Can you imagine any politician saying that now? Likability feels extinct.
Some more Rogers gems:
- “Everyone is ignorant, only on different subjects.”
- “The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf.”
- “Things aren’t what they used to be and never were.”
- “Our Constitution protects aliens, drunks, and U.S. Senators.”
- “I don’t belong to any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.”
Those were the days. I missed them, sadly—and honestly, if I hadn’t, I’d probably be dead by now.
Back here in the Upper Valley, the worries are more local. People in Norwich are losing it over dogs pooping on sports fields. Lebanon is sweating property taxes. Hartford’s upset about ending curbside recycling. Meanwhile, the Valley News Forum is just an endless stream of Trump takes.
And if that weren’t enough, the White House recently shared a fake image of Trump dressed as the Pope. First, he denied involvement. Then he said, “Catholics loved it.”
Sure. Back in Catholic school, I’d have gotten a ruler to the knuckles for less.
But back to Rogers. He once said,
“Because we’re a democracy and run by the people, we’re the only nation in the world that has to keep a government for four years, no matter what it does.”
We may have to endure it—but no one said we have to like it.
