> I think it's prudery. As in, "It's all so horrible, we have to be
> serious." Nonsense. Satire, parody, sarcasm, humor, wit, etc. -- all
> of
> these can trade in grim materials. Kubrick should have settled that
> decades ago.
Also, much of the left is obsessed with defining the orthodoxy and heresy of Radical Doctrine. The medieval Inquisitors weren't a barrel of monkeyshines, either.
The Onion, for example, does a lot of funny stuff, but they certainly aren't orthodox. And look how lefties trash Michael Moore -- even more than the right does. To many leftists, the most important thing is that you have absolutely the correct position on Question IV, Subsection vi, Paragraph (2)-3 of the Catechism. And as others have noted, devoted lefties generally have no sense of humor whatsoever, at least on political topics.
Of course, some of the right is equally humorless and inquisitorial. My diagnosis is that, if one is heavily committed to a particular political position, one has a very strong desire to control everyone's behavior to conform to that position. Humor, on the other hand, is explosive, tending to break down psychic barriers, so one can't predict what the consequences will be. Nothing scares politicos -- left, right, or center -- more.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ "I believe in seeing two sides to an issue so as I can show the other guy where he is wrong." -- Archie Bunker