A Political Litmus Test--Laughter

One of the greatest joys in my life is sitting around with my grandchildren and laughing.  Whenever we are together, we laugh a lot.  It makes me feel good.  Laughter has always been a big part of my life . . . I like to laugh.  As a pastor I told every congregation I served, that it wasn’t worship unless we laughed at least once in every gathering.  Laughter is holy.  Laughter is important.  Consider these quotes:

 

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” – Charlie Chaplin

 

“It is cheerful to God when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

 

“There is little success where there is little laughter.” – Andrew Carnegie

 

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” – Victor Borge

 

“If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know someone, don’t bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he’s a good person.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

 

“The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.” – Bennett Cerf

 

“People who stop laughing are always the ones who get hurt.” – Josh Sundquist

 

“Laughter is carbonated holiness.” – Anne Lammott

 

“Carbonated holiness . . .” says Anne Lammott.  Who doesn’t want a little carbonated holiness in their life?  I know that I do and so do many others.  That is why I am confused at what I am seeing and hearing in the presidential campaign.  According to one party, laughter is a sign of mental illness or insanity.  The other party is proclaiming that it is a sign of a healthy and whole individual.  Whatever, laughter has become a hot topic in politics since there are no serious issues that the candidates should be focusing on . . . inflation, immigration, climate change, abortion, education, taxation.  No . . . the “hot” issue right now is “laughter”.  It seems that the Republicans find it strange, crazy, insulting, and weird that the Democrat candidate, Kamala Harris likes to laugh.  The Democrats are quick to point out that their candidate never laughs . . . even though he believes himself to be a “funny guy . . . the funniest . . . the best” . . . he doesn’t laugh.

 

Of course, all this posturing about laughter makes me laugh.  My gut reaction is to proclaim, “Come on, guys!  Laughter!  Really?”  When did laughter become political?

 

As I stated, I enjoy laughter.  It is a step into holiness and wholeness.  For me, it can be sacred.  It is just plain old fun.  Nothing beats a good belly laugh.  Shirley MacClain stated: “A person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.”  If you know me, you know that there is a lot to laugh about.  It is probably why the grandchildren and I laugh so much . . . Papa is a character!  Besides, I agree with Victor Borge when he says, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”  And, whatever you want to call your “higher power” calls us to connect, to love, and care for one another.  Laughter marks such holiness.

 

I guess if “laughter” is going political, then I vote in favor of laughter.  I like a person, political or not, who laughs.  Kamala Harris laughs.  She has been known to laugh at herself in the midst of a speech.  She will laugh during press conferences.  She laughs in interviews.  The woman loves to laugh and apparently, she sees much in life that is humorous.  And she comes by it naturally.  The women she grew up around—especially her mother—would sit around the kitchen, drinking coffee, telling big stories with big laughs.  They loved to laugh.  Laughter is a part of who she is.  I like that.

 

Kamala might be onto something.  Laughter is good for us.  It is the best medicine, and it doesn’t cost us anything.  The benefits of laughter:

       ·        It relaxes the whole body.

·        It boosts the immune system—it decreases stress hormones and increases immune and infection-fighting antibodies.

·        It triggers the release of endorphins—the body’s natural feel-good chemicals.

·        Protects the heart—increases the function of the heart, protects against heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.

·        Laughter burns calories—10 to 15 minutes of laughing a day can burn approximately 40 calories—enough to lose three or four pound a year.

·        It lightens your anger’s load—diffuses anger and conflict.

·        It might even help you live longer—studies have shown that those who laugh live longer than those who don’t.

·        It keeps you more mentally healthy.

Norman Cousins said that was what got him through cancer . . . what kept him going: “Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.”  I think that is the kind of exercise we can all appreciate.  Apparently, the way Kalama likes to laugh, she is going to live a long, healthy life.

It is said that people who laugh are: optimistic and positive outlook on life; have a sense of humor that sees the lighter side of life; relaxed and easygoing—have less stress; social and outgoing; creative and imaginative; emotionally expressive—are comfortable expressing their emotions; able to see the absurd; and, have a healthy coping mechanism.  People who laugh seem to be more relaxed and accepting of life as it is . . . they are ready to be amazed . . . they are curious.  They have fewer prejudices and can laugh about themselves.  They are positive, live in the moment, and value spontaneity.  They are fun to be around.

 

I like that.

 

That is the sort of person I could see leading people . . . leading a nation.  I think one of the issues that Richard Nixon had when running for president against John F. Kennedy was his public image.  When he and Kennedy were scheduled to debate on television—which were mostly black-and-white, Nixon fretted and practically refused to debate.  He did not look like the happy-go-lucky, smiling Kennedy.  In comparison, Nixon looked like a gruff mean man.  He struggled with that his whole time in public service.  He saw that his image was a minus when it came to the public and who was more likeable . . . someone who smiled and laughed was more popular. 

 

Kamala likes to smile.  She likes to laugh.  She seems to see life as something to embrace, explore, and enjoy.  She looks like fun.  Her opponent, on the other hand, does not.  Her opponent rarely laughs, but more often than not, when he does laugh it is usually at someone or at someone else’s expense.  He comes across as always angry . . . always grumpy . . . always like he has a burr in his saddle.  He does not project a whole lot of positivity.  He comes across as a “downer” . . . sucks the life out of the party.   And I think he knows it.

 

That is why “laughter” has suddenly become a part of the campaign . . . a part of the strategy.  The grumpy one and his party have deemed laughter to be a “bad” thing.  They have proclaimed it to be a weakness . . . a sign of mental illness.  Because Kamala laughs, he has claimed that she is “crazy and nuts . . . a lunatic.”  Suddenly laughter is seen as a negative.  People who laugh cannot be taken seriously.  The arguments are silly.  It is enough to make one . . . wait a minute . . . LAUGH.

 

This is crazy stuff.

 

If the election is going to be based on “laughter” . . . damn the important stuff . . . I am going to lean towards the candidate that laughs.  Kamala is a good person . . . she laughs.  “If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know someone, don’t bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he’s a good person,” writes Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  I am leery of the candidate who can’t laugh.  Poet Robert Frost writes, “If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.”

 

All this political posturing over laughter makes me think . . . who is insane?  The one who laughs or the one who never laughs . . .

 

. . . the whole thing makes me laugh.  Besides, I side with joy every time.  It’s the holy way.

 

Brokenness—Our Commonality

Much of the funding that supports the center where I work at a university comes from grants.  Grants keep our doors open and provide jobs.  Because of this we are always looking for grants to fund us.  Most of the grants we look at cover a variety of areas, but specifically around disabilities.  In the past year those funding searches have been broaden to include something I hadn’t thought about but was marginally aware of—“intersectionality”.

Intersectionality was born out of liberation movement of women, racial discrimination—civil rights theories, sexuality and gender issues—a whole gamut of life circumstances that experience inequalities and injustices just because of who they were.  One source puts it simply: “. . . intersectionality is the concept that all oppression is linked.”  The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.”  Thus, intersectionality is the acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression and we must consider everything and anything that marginalize people—gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc. (Womankind Worldwide).

 

This fascinating concept is something my whole has been centered on—the basis of my theology in ministry—the foundation of over 40 years of preaching.  We all intersect as people—but how?  We are all unique and special creations in the hands of the Holy . . . so how do we connect?  What is the commonality that binds us one to the other?  We are not all the same as our life experiences are different.  So, what makes us one?

 

It is true.  We are all different.  My experience as a male is different than that of my wife who is female.  It is also different than that of my friends who are gay . . . disabled . . . non-white . . . you name it.  We are all different and not surprisingly we land in more than one category.  On the surface we have little if anything in common that pulls us together as one.  We are different.  Yet I would argue that we are bound together . . . that we all intersect . . . that we all have a commonality that binds us together.

 

Our brokenness.

 

In our brokenness we find common ground.  We have all experienced brokenness.  We have all been broken.  There in that brokenness we find the foundation from which we can work together to accept our uniqueness and differences to make the world a kinder, safer place for all.  In our brokenness we can acknowledge this universal thread of woundedness that brings our hearts together with a unified goal of acceptance and healing.  In our brokenness we are one . . . one creation . . . one family.

 

Of course, who wants to admit to being broken?  Of being damaged goods?  I know that I do not.  In fact I am quite certain that I have fought against this acknowledgement most of my life.  It goes against the tough guy façade we Americans hold tightly.  Our Joh Wayne act.  Brokenness is seen as a weakness.  No one wants to be viewed as weak.  With that knowledge we practice America’s number one pastime—denial.  That is how we survive.

 

At times I think of myself as poetic.  In that vein I recently had this moment of waxing poetic:  In the movement of time, like waves upon a beach, smoothing the rough edges of memory, creating a shiny façade of nostalgia . . . that is how we survive.  Another way of saying it is . . . the older I get, the better I was.  Think of Bruce Springsteen’s song Glory Days.  However, it is viewed . . . however it is phrased, it is still denial.

 

The bottom line is that we are all broken.  We have been hurt.  The reasons and experiences may be different, but the brokenness is the same.  Life is fragile and none of us escape it without some brokenness.  The tough part is acknowledging and accepting it . . . claiming it.  It is a part—an important part—of who we are.  A necessary part that opens us to others and allows us to see and know our commonality as holy creations.  Worthy of love . . . worthy of respect . . . of acknowledgement . . . of belonging.  It is there that the healing begins.  It is there where we relate.  It is there where we begin.

 

It is through our brokenness that the light gets in . . . that the holiness, the love . . . comes to all of us.  Leonard Cohen in his classic song, Anthem, said it best: “Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”  For those of you of the Christian faith . . . it is through the brokenness of Jesus that we relate to him and to one another.  In the words of institution around the table we hear: “This is my broken for you . . .”  In the brokenness our commonality is exposed revealing the light of the holiness that makes us one.  It is where we all intersect.

 

We live in a broken world.  No one can argue against that because we have all experienced it.  It is real.  In setting aside the denial that we live in a perfect world . . . have perfect lives . . . that everything is all right, we can begin to see our commonness . . . our brokenness.  It is here where change will begin.  It is here that we must begin.  It is the only hope we have that will allow the light to come crashing in and heal us all. 

 

The birds they sang

At the break of day

Start again

I heard them say

Don't dwell on what has passed away

Or what is yet to be

 

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in

 

That's how the light gets in

That's how the light gets in