Liberals are often accused of being humorless, because a lot of us are; many of us feel it uncouth to laugh until all of the world's problems are solved. Irreverence is often equated with being a blowhard. Which is exactly why so many people are turned off by the excessive dryness of top liberal intellectuals. At least Rush is entertaining, they say. As stupid an excuse as that is for intellectual laziness, should that fact go unnoticed? Can we not be entertaining and candid at the same time?
Of course we can. Virtually all of the best cutting satire coming out today originates from left of center. Liberalism carries with it an innate need to skewer society in increasingly innovative ways. Shows such as Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show poke fun at both sides, though both clearly employ a liberal view by virtue of their respective existences. Additionally, The Onion and any number of obscure blogs pave the way in print. Intellectual satire has been the root of social change for hundreds of years.
While a handful of conservative writers are genuine wits, this seems more of an exception than the rule. Years of actively seeking out and reading political satire has led me to conclude that left-leaning humor is invariably smarter, funnier and better overall. Why? Putting personal biases aside, I think the reasons are simple:
1) Liberals are better able to poke fun at themselves. You don't see Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity cracking out the self-deprecating jokes--or, for that matter, any comment that they are somehow less than God's personal ideologue. And don't forget that Bill O'Reilly and Fox News actually tried to sue Al Franken for brilliantly skewering them in his book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Talk about not getting the joke!
2) Conservative philosophy doesn't lend itself to humor. The platform of the right is based largely on economic self-interest and social hegemony. Heartless capitalism and unilateral foreign policy aren't exactly the stuff of ha ha ha, if you know what I mean.
3) Attempts at humor by righty writers are inevitably lame (and often libelous, if not outright calling for blood). A recent piece of Republican satire said that Ted Kennedy was going to use his fat body to repair a breech in the New Orleans levees. Classic. I'm surprised the fake news story didn't crack a joke about him driving his car off said levee. They're clearly losing their edge. Fortunately, sites such as IMAO carry the lame-satire torch. If a "joke" involves GOP heroes killing and conquering and/or non-righties biting the dust in some form, chances are some Republican fanboy is there to laugh at it.
Nowhere is this contrast more apparent than in a letter in last week's Independent Weekly here in Lafayette. The letter is a response to this article, where writer R. Reese Fuller chronicled the failure of government to address New Orleans flooding issues. The article is an extended timeline of warnings (dating back to 2001) regarding the potential severity that became reality with Katrina. Fuller concludes that FEMA, a virtual casualty of Bush administration budget cuts, is the primary culprit. Bush largely escapes criticism, which is important to remember as you read the letter below. Enjoy this piece of brilliant satire, brought to you by fairness and balance:
R. Reese Fuller’s piece in which he lays out a Hurricane Katrina timeline (“A Time of Need,” Sept. 21) was hilarious for two reasons. First, because in his timeline every single thing that happened in the mishandling of events was the fault of federal authorities, namely Bush; secondly, because this piece was not written as an editorial. It was so biased I kept looking for an editorial tag somewhere to no avail. I could just as easily have created a similar timeline, which would have made Gov. Blanco, Mayor Nagin and the rest of our state officials look like total incompetent boobs, and in fact that was my intention when I began to write this letter. Instead I thought I’d illustrate the absurdity of Fuller’s piece by giving you what must be a typical day in Fuller’s life.
6 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller wakes up to discover that during the night the covers slipped off the bed. Blames Bush.
6:30 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller pours a cup of coffee, puts too much sugar in cup. Blames Bush.
7 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller takes a shower, notices that shower nozzle is becoming clogged with calcium deposits. Blames Bush.
8 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller fires up the computer to read the latest at dailykos.com and democraticunderground.com. Discovers that the rollers in his mouse have become engorged with lint. Blames Bush.
9 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller drives to video store to return Fahrenheit 9/11. Notices his inspection sticker is expired. Blames Bush.
10 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller steps in dog doo on way to office. Blames Bush.
11 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller writes an article about the first few seconds of the Big Bang. Blames Bush.
12:30 p.m.: While at lunch, R. Reese Fuller contemplates how cool it is that when he writes his name he initializes his first name and writes out his middle name in the tradition of many other famous journalists of the past. Begins to wonder if others consider it ridiculous and vain. Incorrectly surmises that only Bush voters would think so.
2 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller notices it is 2:00. Blames Bush.
3 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller begins to daydream about his brilliant piece a few years back written in breathless, whiny prose about why Fahrenheit 9/11 was not showing at a certain point in Lafayette when it was showing in Shreveport and Baton Rouge (“No Moore for Lafayette,” June 30, 2004), then remembers that when the documentary Michael Moore Hates America was showing in those same cities he forgot to write one word about why that documentary was never shown in Lafayette. Blames Bush.
4 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller notices that it is extraordinarily hot and that it is beginning to get cloudy as the sun goes farther down in the sky. Blames Bush.
5 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller leaves work. Tunes into Air America on his XM Radio. Goes through bank drive-thru, where the overhang forces him to lose the signal and cuts off Randi Rhodes just as she was about to blame something on Bush. Blames Bush.
6 p.m.: Bartender gives R. Reese Fuller an Amstel instead of an Amstel Light. Fuller blames Bush.
7 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller gets home and puts his tinfoil hat on backwards by accident. Blames Bush.
9 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller gets into bed, then realizes he forgot to turn off bathroom light. Blames Bush.
9:15 p.m. to 6 a.m.: Dreams about a world where everything bad that happens is Bush’s fault.
Collin R. Castille, Lafayette
(Editor's Note: Scott Jordan and Staff Writer Nathan Stubbs co-compiled “A Time of Need.")
That final addendum is the most hilarious part of the letter. Really, its only sign of life.
Of course we can. Virtually all of the best cutting satire coming out today originates from left of center. Liberalism carries with it an innate need to skewer society in increasingly innovative ways. Shows such as Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show poke fun at both sides, though both clearly employ a liberal view by virtue of their respective existences. Additionally, The Onion and any number of obscure blogs pave the way in print. Intellectual satire has been the root of social change for hundreds of years.
While a handful of conservative writers are genuine wits, this seems more of an exception than the rule. Years of actively seeking out and reading political satire has led me to conclude that left-leaning humor is invariably smarter, funnier and better overall. Why? Putting personal biases aside, I think the reasons are simple:
1) Liberals are better able to poke fun at themselves. You don't see Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity cracking out the self-deprecating jokes--or, for that matter, any comment that they are somehow less than God's personal ideologue. And don't forget that Bill O'Reilly and Fox News actually tried to sue Al Franken for brilliantly skewering them in his book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Talk about not getting the joke!
2) Conservative philosophy doesn't lend itself to humor. The platform of the right is based largely on economic self-interest and social hegemony. Heartless capitalism and unilateral foreign policy aren't exactly the stuff of ha ha ha, if you know what I mean.
3) Attempts at humor by righty writers are inevitably lame (and often libelous, if not outright calling for blood). A recent piece of Republican satire said that Ted Kennedy was going to use his fat body to repair a breech in the New Orleans levees. Classic. I'm surprised the fake news story didn't crack a joke about him driving his car off said levee. They're clearly losing their edge. Fortunately, sites such as IMAO carry the lame-satire torch. If a "joke" involves GOP heroes killing and conquering and/or non-righties biting the dust in some form, chances are some Republican fanboy is there to laugh at it.
Nowhere is this contrast more apparent than in a letter in last week's Independent Weekly here in Lafayette. The letter is a response to this article, where writer R. Reese Fuller chronicled the failure of government to address New Orleans flooding issues. The article is an extended timeline of warnings (dating back to 2001) regarding the potential severity that became reality with Katrina. Fuller concludes that FEMA, a virtual casualty of Bush administration budget cuts, is the primary culprit. Bush largely escapes criticism, which is important to remember as you read the letter below. Enjoy this piece of brilliant satire, brought to you by fairness and balance:
R. Reese Fuller’s piece in which he lays out a Hurricane Katrina timeline (“A Time of Need,” Sept. 21) was hilarious for two reasons. First, because in his timeline every single thing that happened in the mishandling of events was the fault of federal authorities, namely Bush; secondly, because this piece was not written as an editorial. It was so biased I kept looking for an editorial tag somewhere to no avail. I could just as easily have created a similar timeline, which would have made Gov. Blanco, Mayor Nagin and the rest of our state officials look like total incompetent boobs, and in fact that was my intention when I began to write this letter. Instead I thought I’d illustrate the absurdity of Fuller’s piece by giving you what must be a typical day in Fuller’s life.
6 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller wakes up to discover that during the night the covers slipped off the bed. Blames Bush.
6:30 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller pours a cup of coffee, puts too much sugar in cup. Blames Bush.
7 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller takes a shower, notices that shower nozzle is becoming clogged with calcium deposits. Blames Bush.
8 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller fires up the computer to read the latest at dailykos.com and democraticunderground.com. Discovers that the rollers in his mouse have become engorged with lint. Blames Bush.
9 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller drives to video store to return Fahrenheit 9/11. Notices his inspection sticker is expired. Blames Bush.
10 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller steps in dog doo on way to office. Blames Bush.
11 a.m.: R. Reese Fuller writes an article about the first few seconds of the Big Bang. Blames Bush.
12:30 p.m.: While at lunch, R. Reese Fuller contemplates how cool it is that when he writes his name he initializes his first name and writes out his middle name in the tradition of many other famous journalists of the past. Begins to wonder if others consider it ridiculous and vain. Incorrectly surmises that only Bush voters would think so.
2 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller notices it is 2:00. Blames Bush.
3 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller begins to daydream about his brilliant piece a few years back written in breathless, whiny prose about why Fahrenheit 9/11 was not showing at a certain point in Lafayette when it was showing in Shreveport and Baton Rouge (“No Moore for Lafayette,” June 30, 2004), then remembers that when the documentary Michael Moore Hates America was showing in those same cities he forgot to write one word about why that documentary was never shown in Lafayette. Blames Bush.
4 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller notices that it is extraordinarily hot and that it is beginning to get cloudy as the sun goes farther down in the sky. Blames Bush.
5 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller leaves work. Tunes into Air America on his XM Radio. Goes through bank drive-thru, where the overhang forces him to lose the signal and cuts off Randi Rhodes just as she was about to blame something on Bush. Blames Bush.
6 p.m.: Bartender gives R. Reese Fuller an Amstel instead of an Amstel Light. Fuller blames Bush.
7 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller gets home and puts his tinfoil hat on backwards by accident. Blames Bush.
9 p.m.: R. Reese Fuller gets into bed, then realizes he forgot to turn off bathroom light. Blames Bush.
9:15 p.m. to 6 a.m.: Dreams about a world where everything bad that happens is Bush’s fault.
Collin R. Castille, Lafayette
(Editor's Note: Scott Jordan and Staff Writer Nathan Stubbs co-compiled “A Time of Need.")
That final addendum is the most hilarious part of the letter. Really, its only sign of life.
4 comments:
You know, political satire almost always lists toward skewering the party in charge at the time.
So, I think if Republicans want shows like SNL to stop picking on them, the answer is to help us elect a liberal Congress in '06 and a liberal President in '08.
the first two "blame bush" jokes were funny. the third, fourth, fifth and sixth were lame -- very old and tired. but then the 7-9 "blame bush" jokes were so played out that they became funny again -- comic timing, i guess. but 10 through 16 made it obvious that the goal wasn't to make the joke so old it was funny again, but simply a lack of creativity. thus, quite sad.
plus conservatives have to fill up space and take up time somehow -- they certainly can't do it with valid arguments.
And if he was so liberal, wouldn't he own a copy of Farhenheit 9/11 instead of going to rent it?
Or wouldn't he have driven to New Orleans to see it?
And if "Michael Moore Hates America" was such a great piece of cinema, then why didn't it make it here to Republican Paradise?
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