The Power of Laughter
I thought I might touch on the power of politically oriented humor in my previous post. “Laugh!” I wrote in an early draft of Maintaining Peace and Joy Under Authoritarianism . “Laugh at the goons, buffoons, and loons propping up this destructive regime.” There’s no denying the power of humor to buoy our spirits in even the darkest times. And yet I still had reservations as I wrote that line. It occurred to me that our ability to laugh, and what we hope might result from our laughter, very much depends on our privilege. It was then I realized I’d need to delve more deeply into the nature of humor in order to do it justice. Satirical image of Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Tucker Carlson laying hands on Governor Newsom Yeruchem Eilfort states that humor has been an important part of Judaism since Biblical times, whether for the sake of preparing the mind for Talmudic study or otherwise coping with the vicissitudes of existence. This appreciation for humor would later play a role in h...