Humor: A Missing Ingredient in Politics Today
Accused during an 1858 debate with Stephen Douglas of being two-faced, Abraham Lincoln quipped that “If I had two faces, do you think I’d be wearing this one?” His wit and self-deprecating humor were hallmarks of his politics. It helped ground him and preserve his perspective for the trials he and the nation faced as tensions over slavery increased.
Political humor seems a missing ingredient in our politics today. While late-night humorists are still around, even they are under attack as Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel know. Too many political leaders seem unable to laugh at themselves. Republican leaders view humor directed at the president as not just unwelcome but unpatriotic. Democrats love commentators who use humor against their opponents but don’t invite or relish jokes about their own weaknesses. Social media memes and posts more often call forth sarcasm and vitriol rather than humor to make their point about politics and politicians.
Political humor we may not like is one of the benefits of Constitutional free speech. The Smothers Brothers spared no biting jokes about President Lyndon Johnson on their 1960s “Comedy Hour.” Yet after LBJ announced he would not seek a second term, they wrote him to apologize for being too harsh at times, telling him how much they appreciated the good he had done. Johnson wrote them back: "It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives."
Humor has long had a useful place in politics. As early as the 15th century some court jesters, in addition to pure entertainment, used humor to criticize political decisions and some of those who ruled. In a democracy, political humor can serve useful purposes.
Humor can highlight citizens’ complaints about government such as when Will Rogers said “We have the best Congress that money can buy” and when P.J. O’Rourke remarked that “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” Both capture the public’s dissatisfaction and point to the need for change.
Humor can remind us – especially when used by leaders themselves – that government officials are human after all. Gerald Ford, always one to acknowledge that he was not above the common man especially when the press focused on his physical stumbles, quipped that “I know I’m getting better at golf because I’m hitting fewer spectators.” It can allow leaders to signal they’ve been listening, as when Jimmy Carter quipped that “My esteem in this country has gone up substantially. It is very nice when people wave at me, they use all their fingers.”
Humor can also encourage us to keep our political sanity amidst what Jefferson called the “boisterous sea of liberty,” enabling a helpful respite that can promote better decisions. Lincoln remarked that “With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.”
When political opponents come together with humor it can soften their divisions even if only for a few hours. The annual Gridiron Dinner held in Washington, D.C. has since 1885 brought politicians and journalists together to trade jokes, barbs and demonstrate the understanding that civility is essential to forge the connections that make democracy work. Ronald Reagan, a master at such gatherings, noted as an elder president in 1986 that “It’s nice to be here again. You know, I usually sleep through these dinners.” John F. Kennedy acknowledged his family’s wealth at a Gridiron Club dinner when he said “I have just received the following telegram from my generous Daddy – ‘Dear Jack. Don’t buy one more vote than necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide.’”
Of course humor can be overdone. It can deepen cynicism and polarization and breed contempt for honest, hardworking politicians. Yet that is more likely when those who hear a political humorist cannot step back and acknowledge that humor is trying to say something that might be worth exploring. The Gridiron Club motto about their evenings is a useful reminder for practitioners of political humor: “Singe, but never burn.”
A society without political humor is a dour place, one in which problems and personalities drive out possibilities and civility. Compromise, the oil that greases the wheels of self-government, is harder when governors and governed can’t laugh at themselves. As Dwight Eisenhower said: “A sense of humor is part of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” Or, as the Rev. Billy Graham put it: “A keen sense of humor helps us to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected, and outlast the unbearable.”
Americans of different political beliefs have become far too distant from each other. We need to close that distance. As pianist and humorist Victor Borge once put it: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”
Photo Credit: httpsanimalia-life.clubqapicturesemoji-laughing
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