We must reclaim joy by laughing to endure Trump

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Comedian and writer Andy Borowitz released a message on his blog after Donald Trump officially became the projected 47th president of the United States. He wrote, “Today I want to take a break from jokes.”

Beginning with an adorable picture of his dog curled up, he addressed the reader and the collective pain we are experiencing as a nation. He argued that we must take this moment to rest, curl up like his dog, grieve and accept. However, he acknowledged that once this time has been taken, he will be back uplifting the people and using humor. Using our voices is of utmost importance.

“Remaining silent and surrendering to despair is exactly what fascists want us to do,” he wrote. “So let’s not.”

Comedy and satire are an immensely important social critique of politics, economics, social systems and society as a whole. The word “comedy” originates in ancient Greece, where it was a song, dance and story that satirizes and celebrates.

As humans, we love humor. It is a phenomenon that animals — monkeys, for example — experience and pursue. The medium of comedy has always been a place for the people to have a voice against oppression and corruption.

To laugh a genuine laugh makes us feel like heavy things are light, and allows us to reclaim joy in a painful world. But how can we laugh now, when life is not funny? Trump’s presidency will hurt many people and infrastructures of support. That is not funny at all.

Grief allows acceptance. Later on, in the cold of the winter, sitting in silence, sorrow and fear will bring the death of our collective love-joy-autonomy. The saying “ignorance is bliss” now must be “ignorance is suffering.” Running away now is running away from all of your loved ones when they need you most. We must ensure the survival of the most vulnerable in our country. Resilience is a fallacy; instead, we must adapt, grow and thrive, despite the cages that make us stuck and stagnant. The cages that hold bodies, minds, souls captive.

Humor is care. We must both embrace and give each other this care.

We need to create and maintain collective joy to ensure our survival under Trump.

The night of Trump’s declaration of victory, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” aired a show in which Kimmel directly responds to Trump’s victory. There is a bit where Kimmel claims he is booking it out of the country, and his sidekick Guillermo convinces him to stay:

“Jimmy, we need you. We need you to help us get through this. You have a very important voice.”

He might have been speaking about the necessity of comedic voice in critiquing the elite patriarchs, acknowledging suffering and bringing about love. In this country, mass media is a place for people to cope with grief and process political emotions.

The faces of this media: white men. The “voice” that Guillermo says we need from Kimmel is the voice of Kimmel’s persona: the voice of the white liberal elites. Comedy is being co-opted by white conservative power politics through the vessels of Joe Rogan and Theo Von, who both hosted Trump on their podcasts and strongly endorsed him. So, my cry for comedy must acknowledge the dangers that come with influence. Comedy is balancing on the same precarious edge that our nation balances on.

At the same time Kimmel does this bit, Seth Meyers is on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” joking about the horror and absurdity of what is happening. He smiles and laughs because that is the thread holding the fabric of reality together for us humans.

Meyers leaves us with one final call for care:

“Now is the time to stand in solidarity with our friends, with our neighbors, with the vulnerable communities, and begin the hard work of making real the world we want to live in. That’s what we will be doing on day one. We do hope you will join us. The clock is ticking.”

On the screen, Rudy Giuliani swings as the ticking hand of a clock. It is hilarious.

“And we are still gonna try to have fun.”

Ben Fox, of Minneapolis, worked at the comedy club Acme in Minneapolis.