It’s a good time of year for laughter

I once believed that sticks and stones could break my bones and words could never hurt me, but then I was hit with a dictionary of insults: boring, useless, overpriced (really?) and heaven forbid, the dreaded humorless. Whoa, such bitterness is not good for one’s health or soul.

Humor is one of the most varied and complex qualities and like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The right type of humor makes us better humans and imminently more relatable as people. When the goal is not amusement but humiliation, humor becomes hostile, antagonistic, and degrading. This brand of humor relies on belittling others while targeting physical or mental attributes. (Joe Biden’s speech and walk, Kamala Harris’ laugh.)

As the country becomes more polarized, you get this race-to-the-bottom competitiveness, where people want to get noticed ( perhaps even arrogantly)and have to be even more outrageous than the next person.

It would be tempting to call all conservatives grievance mongers but why on earth would I want to alienate my conservative friends? They represent a diminishing cadre who intelligently discuss policy and lament a form of politics that is more focused on racking up insults.

In the spirit of the season let us admit that not all liberals are voices of doom and not all conservatives are raging QAnon maniacs. Let’s laugh at the self-contained world of holiday movies, where frequent blizzards force two strangers to spend time together without discussing politics.

— Wanda Burleson, Chico