No laughing matter

Tragedy is all around us. Poverty. Corruption. Injustice. Ignorance. Bigotry. Debauchery. You pleasedonotname it. It’s so tragic that gifs and memes make us feel better about ourselves. Yup, that’s the level of detachment we’ve reached from the abject realities of the globe. Thanks to the Internet, it’s much easier to dig into one’s subject of interest but the deeper you get, the more convinced you are by the utter helplessness of being. Systems are in place that are designed to manufacture rot but not without lining the pockets of those who either created/run them. The sheer magnitude of these operations—irrespective of which country you belong to — on second thoughts, you belong to your mother, not a country — are enormous. Call it capitalism, if you like. But more damningly, they expose our inherent greed. The level of insecurity generated speaks for itself: being nice to strangers isn’t a human trait anymore, it’s a corporate necessity.

Of course, this is a bleak way of looking at things that are somehow deprived of light.

Yet, in such a hopeless condition, our dependence on comedy grows at an exponential rate. Comedy that isn’t a replica. Comedy that declares a war not only on bullshit but also on boredom. Comedy that stands tall on its merit of originality. Comedy that speaks the truth while others either beat around the bush or simply demur. Comedy that is intelligent but not arrogant. Comedy that might just save us from our rubbish.

Think about it.

Why else would a joke be funny? Doesn’t it expose the weaknesses of those whom it’s cracked on as well as the hypocrisies of those who are laughing? And what if both the parties happen to be the same? Touché.

The essence of tragedy is rooted in the same place where comedy rises from: the irrepressible facts of life. Everything is sad. Everything is funny. What’s sadly funny is it’s embarrassing to watch Maradona play football today. The physical decline of a genius with age makes a sweet reminder that nothing lasts long enough. Absolutely nothing. If anything is human in construct, it’s going to perish sooner or later. But without the pill of comic relief, we may just miss this gorgeous transition. And we all know by now that capitalistic world is very powerful but not powerful enough to buy someone a sense of humour.