Laugh, Baby, Laugh

I love the concept of the "Smash Shack" the store opened in San Diego, where according to CBS News, victims of the credit crisis are taking out their frustrations by buying fragile objects and hurling them against the wall.

I haven't got to that place mentally myself. But nonetheless I think the "Smash Shack's" basic premise - the idea that we all need some form of release from the unbearable tension of these times is correct.

For me - and apparently millions of others - that comes either in escapist television (I've already mentioned my addiction to True Blood on this site) but mostly it comes in the form of laughter. I find myself laughing at the smallest things these days - a line in the paper; my son's school report; anything to distract me from the ghastly news.

I noticed that Paul Krugman's recent column in the New York Times states that Obama is winning because of the "seriousness" of his campaign as opposed to what Krugman perceives as the "trivialities" of McCain's.

This may well be true. People don't want a joker for a President. We've just had one of those, with results that defy belief. The other night a group of friends and I were discussing the mentality of a serial killer: what it would be like to push all of society's boundaries until inevitably you'd be caught - and, suddenly, I realized that's exactly what George W. Bush has done. He's pushed the envelope at home, and abroad until the world is on the state of collapse. Now he's been caught - but too late. The devastation he has inflicted may take years to fix.

But meanwhile how are we to cope through this crisis if we are not smashing glasses? Paul Krugman makes a further interesting point in his column. He talks about 9/11 and reminds us that at the time of the horrendous attacks, people said we'd never laugh again, but, in fact, we did - and fast.

This is because laughing is a necessary part of the human psyche. It's essential to put things into perspective. Yes, the world is in a disastrous state, but if you find no humor in your lives or funny situations, then you are in a tragic state of mental imbalance. Yes, you may face losing your job, your home...but you are still alive and there is still something to fight for. An election is on the horizon and who knows what changes that will bring?

Hopefully you still have friends, family...there is always someone worse off than you. Think of poor Jennifer Hudson, finding her dead mother and brother and missing nephew. Think of Anne Pressly, that beautiful 26-year-old news anchor from Arkansas, killed possibly because of a tiny cameo as a Republican in the film of W.

The latter in particular is a sign that right now we - just as much as our leadership -are mentally imbalanced, victims of fear-mongering, that we journalists must partly take responsibility for.

That's why I am glad CNN has just brought in D L Hughley to satirize the news; I'm glad SNL's audience figures have gone through the roof, as have Jon Stewart's and Stephen Colbert's.

Tina Fey is a godsend. Sarah Palin may be a living nightmare as vice-presidential candidate - but unless you can see the funny side of a woman who sees Russia from her bedroom window, who sells herself as a hockey mom but buys designer labels and who fires her pesky ex brother-in-law over a divorce, then you are living in a destabilizing nightmare. And it's time you woke up and believed in yourself and tomorrow. You will get through this. Sarah Palin is a joke. So don't cry; laugh. Just don't vote for her.

Comments

[steveward14]

I've been unemployed for four months and I laugh constantly. I laugh at the size of my COBRA bill each month, I laugh at the number of resumes I send out that go unanswered, I laugh at the thought that I'm over 50 and my best earning days may be behind me. What I don't laugh at though are the negative, divisive, unfair campaign tactics of the Republican party. Where Obama has been fair and balanced in his campaign, McCain and his stop-at-nothing cohorts have taken presidential politics to new lows. I have to tell you, Tina Fey is only a tiny respite in what has become a poisoned political atmosphere. I am so looking forward to the end of the campaign season. Maybe that's when I'll really feel able to laugh again.

[TOOO]

Speaking of laughs (and I hope this isn't TOO far off-topic), a young (yes, black) woman wore an Obama sweatshirt to work today, and the Republicans there went LIVID (not to her face, of course)!

Listening to these people, you'd think they got all their information (such as it is) from Glenn Beck or FOX. Amazing! When I finally confronted one of them with the truth, she finally admitted that she could never vote for Obama because he's black.

Oh, and they're still convinced Obama wants to give all our money to unemployed people. *Sigh.*

[LoyalOpposition]

I will write a letter to The View concerning one of their women appearing with Palin and contributing to the outrageousness of Palin's campaign which uses fearmongering and other tools of demogogery. While it is right that their should always be room for dissenting voices, those who use fear and race baiting, not to mention the same kind of red-baiting that made McCarthy famous, should not be supported by the media, as they do the people great harm. This celebrity and politician have crossed the line of fair dissent.
I invite others to join me in asking to have Elizabeth Hasselback replaced on The View.

[dozaa]

i'm in.

[tis]

You have my vote!

[mariannef]

I SOOOO agree! What has Hasselback done besides banter ignorantly on The View? Oh, that's right, she was a contestant on SURVIVOR.

[hunt49]

Why is Palin such a rich supplier of humor? She's the turtle that doesn't even know she's on the post.

Didn't you see her waving her arms in the air on SNL? Getting no traction at all...

[Rj5000]

Is it true, the reason Sarah Palin won't release her medical records is because she has breast implants? I'm not saying she does. Just asking...

[CharlesSolomon]

I understand there is a screenplay that just came out and it is the uproariously funny flipside to
W., titled "Gorgeous". Lionsgate has been debating whether to produce it. The leading characters
are President Gorgeous Rush, Vice President Derk Chainsaw and Secretary of State Candy Roll.
Three characters who have a clone made for President Rush so he can have more playtime at his
ranch in Crawly,Texas. And the clone, due to a hunting accident with VP Chainsaw begins running
America wisely. It is a movie that makes you laugh and cry at the samretime...Laugh baby laugh..
I hope they produce it...We can all use the laughs and hope.
Charles Solomon

[Atticus]

Uh, sounds rather silly and smarmy to me..

[LightningJoe]

And if you need MORE material for jokes, Sarah is an unending font of unintentional irony. All you have to do is look up local story archives.

You'll find out about her tax-free per diems for living in her own home -- to the tune of $60,000 per year.

You'll hear how she's pushing hard for ANOTHER bridge that might as well be to nowhere -- the Knik Arm Bridge, which would shorten her commute from the aforesaid Wasilla home to her "Governor's Office" in Anchorage (the REAL Governor's Office is in Juneau, where she all but refuses to travel). This bridge would cost TWICE what the "nowhere" bridge would have, but for some reason, money is no object with this one.

There's no end to it. Sarah is the gift that keeps giving -- to herself.

[kareemachan]

Just point me in the direction of the Sarah Palin bobbleheads, and I'm ready to go!

[walkonsatisfied]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

AHH! Now I feel better!

[ObamAtomic]

Stevens ,Guilty!

[ObamAtomic]

Family Values,,where are they?

[AProudRepublican]

In all fairness to Sarah Palin, she doesn't buy designer clothes... her campaign does. :) Back to topic though, this is a great article, and I so agree in the importance of laughter! We need to take these things seriously, but also realize that some things will ultimately be out of our control. We can do our part by voting for who we believe in, but in the end, we simply have to make the best of the results. There is good on both sides, and of course, there will always be laughter to be found. :)

[ObamAtomic]

In all fairness to the Party of the Family Values,,where are they?

[AProudRepublican]

The Palin's look to be a loving, supportive family with unconditional love for each other, and Sarah and Todd also appear to have a very supportive marriage. Their family values look strong to me.

[Blue Stem]

Yes, the clothes are going to be donated to charity!! SO there will be some bag ladies that are WELL-DRESSED as they push their shopping carts.!!!!!

[hartkid]

I can vividly remember the first time I laughed after 9/11. I have to say a big thank you to theonion.com for the release they provided me during that painful time. I laughed until I cried at my desk at the supreme court. I know the other clerks must have thought I had gone crazy. I cried and then laughed out loud more. It was bitter laughter but it left me a little less bereft. I have linked to the archive: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38673

[AProudRepublican]

For my family, it was during the TV concert that soon followed 9/11. Tom Petty sang, "I Won't Back Down," and he looked and acted totally stoned. He "totally" cracked us up. It was absolutely hilarious! hahaa Gotta love Tom Petty!!! =D

[hartkid]

Yep. I remember that concert too. It was really hard to cope with the shock and grief and try to also maintain some normalcy. It was just hard to enjoy anything. I didn't sleep for days at a time and couldn't turn away from the 24 hour coverage of ground zero. What a terrible chapter. I Still have dreams about it seven years later. When they shut down all the government buildings, I went downtown and sat outside an empty coffee shop. It felt a little like being the Omega man. There wasn't a plane in the sky. Even the birds seemed to be grounded. I just remember the silence and not being able to stop crying and wondering why?.

[oldgoose]

The Smash shak. Stationed in Alaska many, many years ago . Because of the large military community nearby and the usual dish breakage of frequent moves the Goodwill store always had a surplus of dishes no one wanted because they did not match. Our husbands would disappear in winter on field manoeuvers for sometimes more than a month at a time. So we had a smash party: after purchasing our choice of dishes from the goodwill we would get together for an afternoon of fun. We would place a sheet of plywood against the wall of one of the basements on base and spend an afternoon smashing dishes against the wall. Sometimes we discovered we had bought one another's dishes! Followed by a coffee and exchange of gifts it made for a wonderful stress remover from the cabin fever which caught up with all of us that time of year! Amazing how little it takes!

[burpgun]

If Sarah Palin is a "Joke" then John McCain is the "Courtroom Jester" Himself! This is actually a very kind analogy as Batman's "Joker" also comes to mind! Iam tired of Big Oil and the Pentagon running the Country through their chosen vessels and frontmen! My personal hero is not General Petraeus but Bob Gates who had the nerve and audacity to "Fire" the head of the Air Force and its chief Civilian Consultant for the minor infraction of having a plane equipped with missiles having Nuclear warheads fly over parts of the United States without the pilot having any knowledge of his cargo! Now, you can argue that the Pentagon is defending the Country but I would counter argue that the Pentagon is breaking the Country-Pick a side!