When people want to look upon their times as tragic, tragic they become, or at least tragi-comic. All times have at least some bad things happen, to at least some of the people.
In Canada during the COVID pandemic, “countless businesses permanently closed”, according to Mondaq.com (providing data from professional services firms). Statistics indicate that about 40% of couples are considering divorce, and only 53% of people say their mental health is good. Add fear of climate change, war, and price inflation, and you get a picture if not black at least grey.
This is a good time to escape into comedy, humanity's age-old response to tragic realities. Humanity wears two masks, which symbolize the theatrical arts and mirror the good-evil, light-dark dualities of religion. You'd think we'd need the smiling mask more than ever during times of pandemic and war, but it's hard for comics to play their role in a depressed society.
“It's not funny,” protest folks who don't want to be cheered up.
Add to this the fact that so many groups feel “marginalized” -- while they clamour for compensation there's a feeling that humour is inappropriate. It's vague what they feel on the margins of, but resentment is a free-floating thing. Some people enjoy the pleasure of dis-approving more than the pleasure of approving; so in the Comedy Club called Life, laugh at your peril.
The comedian, whose role was always to play the “holy fool” and look askance at social “truths”, is an emergency responder, a front-line worker whose job is to get out of line. But you've got to be wise to play the fool.
As a first responder the comic is looking for the funny side of things, but keeps finding hidden sides of miserable things. Life is funny that way -- but you don't dare let your first response be laughter. Too bad, because the pleasure instinct is the survival instinct, as the ancient Stoic philosophers knew.
In ancient Rome they'd sit on a "stoa" (porch) to offer spontaneous philosophy to passers-by. Keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, they advised, way before Kipling did. Don't stress about what you can't fix. Enjoy what's enjoyable. Maybe we need to spend more time on stoas today.
Whatever we do let's not cancel comedy (not censor the comedians and cartoonists). They may be our best therapists, in a time of resentments and obsession with mental illness. Jokes, jocosity and jests probably save more lives than mood medication does. They are mental vitamins.
