Can we laugh again? by Annette Weir

 

The holiday season is always a time of year when loved ones and friends gather to enjoy each other’s company, put aside their differences, and just feel happy. We overeat, overdrink, and just put aside any wild ideas of dieting to the side because it’s a special time to just forget those pesky little things.  We bring gifts and snuggle by the fireplace to watch the joy on the faces of the little ones as they eagerly tear apart the packages that were brought for them.  We celebrate the time of the year by attending our churches or synagogues to top off the day. Where did all that go?  Certainly, we’re not a Norman Rockwell family painting, but so much has changed in the last 10 years that it’s hard to find our way back.

There used to be a time when you could come home from a hectic day at the office, gather with your family, kick off your shoes, and plop yourself in your recliner to work out the kinks of the day.  After a comfortable dinner with your loved ones, you could always turn on the TV to watch something funny together to add to the air of security in your home.  That seems to be a thing of the past these days. 

Recently for the fun of it I checked out some of the late-night comedians – who were really comedians – to see how they differed from today.  For the most part they would deal with some political stuff, but only for a brief one liner, and then move on to other things to get a laugh.  There was no profanity, although there may have been some suggestive one liners.  Then of course, they would go into sketches that kind of made you laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all.  Their guests were always there to either plug a picture they were staring in or tell some of their own funny stories.  It was all comfortable viewing.  Today, however, the late-night so-called comedians, are now political hacks that bash anything they aren’t in favor of and always have guests on that do the same.  There’s nothing to laugh about. It's sad that our society has become so negative – thanks to social media and the cable stations – that we have no sense of humor anymore. 

Nowadays if you turn on the tube for news, even if you only want the highlights of the day, you get one tragedy after another making you feel like screaming.  If it isn’t people killing the Jews here in the United States and other countries, then its drug induced people killing others at random because they’re allowed to roam the streets. I’m looking forward to a time when we can feel comfortable laughing and not have to look over our shoulders to see if there is anyone ready to attack us for our sense of humor.