Humor is a Funny Thing. Or Not.
President Barack Obama, once a year dubbed the Comedian-in-Chief, knows how to use humor to uplift rather than to tear down. Oh, he’s funny enough. That’s not my point. What impressed me Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ dinner was not just that he was again very cool, but that he really is comfortable with himself. He doesn’t need to tear others down to make himself look good.
Humor can be painful. President Obama has been the brunt of more than his share of jokes, taken more than his share of ridicule, and been the target of out-right hate. Saturday night, beginning with the traditional self-deprecating jokes, Obama acknowledged that he was expected to make fun of himself and to take himself down a few pegs, but added, “After 4 ½ years, how many pegs are left?”
Humor is a funny thing. Or not. We live in a world so starved for genuine joy that our sit-coms have become nothing more than a series of put-down jokes. No wonder our conversation mimics the comics, filled with bullying snide-remarks rather than the wit of wisdom. That is, if we have face-to-face conversation at all. It’s so much more convenient to make fun of people who “Friend” us electronically or to titter at our “Twitter.” We are sick from our own cynicism.
I find humor best when it arises from community. A group working together, enjoying each other, trusting each other. We do or say something in context that’s just plain funny, a you-have-to-have-been-there funny. And we laugh, not at each other, but with each other.
Actually, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner came close to that Saturday night. Oh, there were some stingers, but not so many out-of-bounds remarks that we were all talking about them Sunday morning. The hit was Barack trying to copy Michelle by adding bangs to his image. Fun! And the president issued some humorous remarks about the full range of news sources. Well taken! He added, “My job is to be president. Their job is to keep my humble. Frankly I think I’m doing my job better.” Applause.
Was Obama’s humor tough enough? He may have come closest when referring to people asking, “Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?” “Really?” Obama said, “Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?” Big laugh. After which the president uttered, “ Sometimes I get frustrated.” But he returned to his inclusive humor when kidding about Marco Rubio considering running for president. “He hasn’t finished a single term in the Senate and he thinks he’s ready to be president? Kids, these days.”
Now that’s a reason to enjoy one another.