Make ‘Em Laugh

When I look back on my life I can quickly point out the hard times and the challenges, but more importantly the fact that I was able to make it through the trials. I believe the main reason I was able to fight to see another day is my sense of humor. There are few things I enjoy more than a good belly laugh. However that laugh often comes as a replacement for tears. If possible I will go for the laugh.

One of my all time favorite movies is the masterpiece “Singing in the Rain”. Gene Kelly was one of the best performers of all time. He could make you laugh, he could make you cry, he could make you swoon and when he danced, he could steal your heart. This handsome, masculine, light footed man would fly through the air as if he had wings. Team him up with the impetuous Donald O’Connor and endearing Debbie Reynolds and the formula for a classic MGM musical is complete.

If you haven’t seen ‘Singing in the Rain’ I strongly recommend this for an evening of fun for the entire family. The reason I’m talking about this is because of the one unforgettable number, “Make em Laugh”; the key word being laugh.

I started thinking about this last week after a rodeo clown was fired for wearing a mask of President Obama. If you look back before the clown you will find the court jester.

As far back as early Egypt the Pharaohs were entertained by court jesters. The jesters had a few different jobs, one was to entertain; another was to deliver bad news and also to mock the Pharaoh and his councils. This was no doubt the most difficult to accomplish because the punishment for going too far was probably losing your head.

There are also signs of jesters back in the times of the early Aztecs. So as you can see since near the beginning of time we have had people to make us laugh.

I will openly admit that I am the type of person that can make a joke about almost anything. The more somber or formal the moment sometimes the more ridiculous I am. I refer to this as a ‘tension breaker had to be done’. I can honestly say I have gotten into more trouble in my life for laughing than anything else I’ve ever done. I guess when I get nervous my brain goes into overdrive.

Now moving back to the rodeo clown, it seems somewhat petty to condemn a critic of President Obama let alone fire the guy. If any of you have ever been to a rodeo you know that one of the most dangerous jobs is the clown. It’s his or her job to distract the bull so the riders can get out of the ring safely. As to the Obama mask, I believe I have seen masks of every president that I can remember. The first president I really remember is John F. Kennedy. I think in light of his dire circumstances I don’t know if there was a mask or not or if I was just too young to remember.

I was, however, old enough to remember “Tricky Dicky”. I even remember Richard Nixon saying “Sock it to me?” I can still picture Dana Carvey doing George H.W. Bush in front of President Bush. Everyone, including President and Mrs. Bush, laughed. Tell me you’ve never seen or heard everyone do Bill Clinton aka Bubba. And of course let’s not forget the wonderful image of ‘W’s head on a pike, decorating King's Landing, hidden in Game of Thrones season one. The producer said they’re on a tight budget and had to use what they could find just hanging around, really?

Now I’ve never watched this show but enough people talked about the scene that even I knew about it. To the best of my knowledge, no one was fired. Humm, imagine that.

So since almost the beginning of time, court jesters or clowns have been making political statements in a humorous way. Even during the Restoration period Charles II did not have a jester but he was a patron of the arts and the proto-music hall, he was especially fond of Thomas Killigrew. Killigrew was a dramatist and a theatre manager and he was said to have quite the sense of humor.

From 1660-1669 Samuel Pepys kept detailed private diaries that are a clear representation of the Restoration period. In the famous diary, first published in the 19th Century, Pepys called Killigrew "The King's fool and jester, with the power to mock and revile even the most prominent without penalty" (12 February 1668).

My how times have changed; one of my favorite clowns was Emmett Kelly, Jr.  His famous character “Weary Willie” had a dreadfully sad face.  His job was to end the show with a silly, funny, yet charming effort to sweep up the spotlight.

If we can no longer mock or criticize our political leaders I fear that what “Weary Willy” is sweeping up is not the spotlight, but sadly, our first amendment.