Excuse me. Has anyone seen a sense of humor around here somewhere? We seem to have lost it. The terrorists can sit back and relax, because given enough time, we’ll surely kill each other. I’m getting so tired of hearing everyone argue and protest and drone on about the worst possible aspects of life today.
It’s quite true that we’re living in very troubling times, tiptoeing beneath the shadows of strategic snipers, nuclear weapons, biological warfare and an unstable economy. I’m not naive. I just choose not to jump on the politically charged bandwagon of discontent because frankly, I’ve had enough of it. And I think you have, too. Of course, I’m very concerned about the state of our nation, but I also realize that now, more than ever, we need to hold on to that one thing that is slipping away so quickly: our sense of humor. It seems that these days everyone takes everything too seriously, and even worse, we’re taking ourselves too seriously. Everybody falls down now and then. So why not just laugh it off? Does it ever occur to anyone that when they don’t laugh at the comment they made in class that sounded a lot better in their head, it makes them look even dumber because it looks like they actually believe their accidental idiocy to be normal? It never really bothers me if people are laughing at me or with me, just as long as I’ve broken the silence and gotten them to lighten up just for a minute.
You always hear that laughter is the greatest medicine. Well, we’re dying of a terminal disease, showing symptoms of road rage, alcoholism and a general lack of consideration for anything or anyone not associated with some political plight. I’m not trying to say that a sense of humor is the cure for the vast array of problems plaguing our world today, but it could just help to numb the pain a little.
Whitney Friedrich is a senior majoring in advertising and English.