It’s an old adage but it’s true: when you can’t cry, you have to laugh.
The last few weeks have brought a myriad of mixed feelings and reactions at being back in Canada. Joy, because of proximity to things fuzzy and familiar, relief at being near an ill family member, and sadness at being away from a place I feel at home in. There have also been liberal dollops of self-pity, confusion, and a keenly gnawing restlessness. Questions surrounding worth, direction, relationships with artistry, family, and community, and a larger, more silent quest for meaning amidst the madness. Dear Mid-Life Crisis, you’re early by a decade.
The best part of these days have been the nights -and no, not because I’ve developed a taste for seedy bars or taken on a profession involving garment-shedding (yet). The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have become the colorful, leaping Castor and Pollux of my moping, grey-hued psyche. Watching the Emmy Awards lastnight, I was struck by the role the programs, and in a larger sense, comedy itself, has played in my life the last few years. If it’s true that laughing at the devil makes him flee, it’s equally true that humor puts pain (be it physical, emotional, spiritual, or all three) into the Magic Bullet of human experience; laughter gets mixed up with all those other very un-fun ingredients, resulting in a gooey concoction called Hilariously Tolerable, also known as Smiling Feels Good, also known as I-Can’t-Go-On; I’ll-Go-On, a phrase Sam Beckett knew a thing or two about.

Having turned into a verifiable newshound over the last few years, my taste for newsy comedy has grown, but I’ve never quite abandoned my long-standing love of the absurd, either. I didn’t pay much mind to The Daily Show or The Colbert Report until I was forced to face the the steaming pile of ugly adulthood presents. Suddenly, jokes about stuff on the news made a whole lot more sense. After 9/11 especially, this kind of humor became a necessity for me -and, I suspect for many like me. Nothing made sense except comedy.

So I believe Jon Stewart when he says (insists) that his role is, first and foremost, to make people laugh. It’s hard. The world’s a pretty crappy place. We all know that. But it’s heartening to know that he and Stephen Colbert make it just a bit brighter for some of us four night a week. Things frequently don’t make sense in life, but if there’s one thing I consistently take away from these programs, it’s that there’s a joy at work in the world, one that feeds on not putting anything in place, but in finding the right angles to point at the chaos and shriek, THIS IS NUTS, funny faces in place, absurd narrative in play. To The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, I say: thank you x a billion, and, I owe you each a large tray of cookies. Marshmallow Fluff on top, if you really want it.
Brent Miller
"…meaning among the madness." Exactly what comedy brings. Brilliant!
Pamela
I like the 'when life throws you lemons, make lemonade' approach to humour in this blog. And I agree, we all need to laugh, so in a way, we owe a debt to the people engaged in the business of making us forget our troubles for a while.
PS – but if you DO decide to develop a taste for seedy bars or take on a profession involving garment-shedding, please write a blog with pics. I like to live vicariously through others!! lol
KiT McAllister
Interesting posits in your blog post. While Stewart and Colbert have their moments, I can never get enough of Beckett's sardonic wit. Shall YOU go on? Of course you will! 😉
Anonymous
Hi Catherine…both these fine gentlemen are indeed crazy and born to make folks laugh…they also laugh at themselves…I do especially appreciate Mr Colbert's tendencies to totally rub it in the right's face…while glad handing and ass kissing…Liqa madiq! beautiful subversion!!! If the average colbert worshiping republican only new how much they were made fun of!! I also groove on a guy named Louis CK…very witty,brilliant, acidic, acerbic and without vitriol or mysogyny…he makes me pee my pants sometimes!!!
as always…great ramblings and readings…hope this finds you warm in your spirit…right?…rage on…
Chef Trevor Middleton