Why we need comedy

Why We Need Comedy

By Ed Vasicek 

My favorite joke of all time is about a new minister who is fresh out of Bible College.  He prepares to make his first-ever pastoral visit and dials elderly Mrs. Smith. 

"Hello, Mrs. Smith," he began, "I am Pastor Jones, the new pastor at First Church.  I would like to come by and visit with you."

"Come right over, Sonny," she quivered. 

When he arrived, she welcomed him inside and offered him a seat.  After visiting, he realized that he had emptied the entire bowl of peanuts that had been full to the brim. 

"Oh, Mrs. Smith," he apologized, "I guess I am a bit nervous since I am new at all this. I am afraid I ate the entire bowl of peanuts!" 

"That's okay, Sonny," she replied. "Ever since I got my teeth out, all I can do is suck the chocolate off them anyhow." 

You are probably laughing hysterically at that one. And you probably needed that laugh.

With all the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, the stresses of Delphi's future, and the recent threats of terror, we all have plenty to be tense about. And a good laugh helps us cope with those tensions. 

Richard Restak, one of our nation's top brain experts, wrote, ""...scientists have confirmed that humor decreases stress, boosts immune defenses, relaxes muscle tension, decreases blood pressure, and modulates pain."

When we understand a joke, find it funny, and laugh, our brains reward us and we refresh ourselves, experiencing some of the benefits mentioned above. For a little while, the world becomes a less serious place. 

Laughter is part of what it means to be human. Hyenas may appear to laugh, but only human beings laugh because they find something funny. We might argue that the more you laugh, the more distinctly human you are!

 Here's another one. The doctor asks the nurse, "Nurse, how is the man doing who fell into the re-upholstering machine?"  The nurse replies, "He is fully recovered." 

Some of my favorite one-liners are borrowed from among the clean jokes of Jewish comedians Henny Youngman or Milton Berle. Speaking of Jewish comedians, have you ever wondered why so many comedians are Jewish? Names like The Three Stooges, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, The Marx Brothers, Allan Sherman, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Alan King, George Burns, Fanny Brice, and Eddie Cantor are some that come to mind. 

Have you ever wondered why it is that so many comedians are Jewish?  There is a twofold answer to this. First, the Jews have held comedy in high esteem for millennia. 

Rabbi Simon Jacobson comments upon a passage of the Jewish Talmud, a collection of ancient religious writings: "...there are references to humor in the Talmud, and particularly one that stands out is the story where a rabbi (a sage and scholar) asks Elijah the Prophet if anyone in the marketplace is going to have the reward of a share in the 'World to Come.'

 "Elijah points out two individuals ... So the Sage goes over to these two individuals and asks them what they do because he wanted to know what caused them to earn that reward. And they said they were comedians... they lift people's spirits through their humor. By doing that, as the Talmud puts it, it also brings peace between people."

 Besides a religious motivation to respect humor, the Jewish people have used comedy to help them cope with life's sufferings. The Jews are well known for suffering discrimination, attempts at genocide, and persecution. Comedy helped them take their minds off their woes and temporarily escape to the lighter side of life. 

Ever since 911, Americans have been tense. Like the ancient Hebrew people, we need to learn to esteem good comedy (even the comedy of a simple joke) - for our own well-being. As Erma Bombeck wrote, "If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it." 

Solomon put it this way: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."