Our Funny Constitution
Once upon a time, I lived in a society, that was completely controlled. It was ruled by an unpopular authoritarian ruler. Dissent was not permitted, and if you didn’t conform to the harsh rules, you would be punished. Most of the people accepted the conditons imposed, a few were not pleased but went along, this was high school.
Like many high schools, ours had a school newspaper, it’s purpose was to report sports scores and bake sale results. I had a long running feud with the leader of this “state within a state”. Because I could form a complete sentence, and because my English teacher was able to recognize my handwriting in the grafitti I left on the school walls, I decided to use the school paper as my vehicle of dissent.
Knowing that I would not be afforded any “Constitutional” protection of free speech, this high school was located in a country that didn’t even bother with the need of a sham constitution, I used the only method of writing available to attack the administration - Satire.
I wrote a few columns for the paper, before the authorities caught on, and the publisher was forced to abandon me. Students and teachers enjoyed the cleverly disguised, and humorus jabs, I took at the principal. And the English teacher, never turned me in for my acts of vandalism, it helped that I had sprayed messages of support in the teacher’s lounge.
Satirical writing and political comedy, are sometimes the only literary tools left, by which writers may critique the policies of the ruling regime. Make it funny, and then if they throw you in prison and torture you, they look like insecure men who can’t take a joke. It helps if you live in a country, that makes a pretense at freedom, unfortunately we don’t live in one.
Wait a minute, in America, you can’t go to jail or lose your job for telling a joke? Can you? At least not a political joke? Not in America? Right? Wrong. Our country has no sense of humor.
If you have been in an airport, you may have heard the friendly voice over the intercom, remind you that joking about exploding things can get you arrested. Well, that’s kinda sorta like yelling “fire in a crowded theatre”, so maybe saying, “Will you quit fondling my swim suit. You act like I’m the inventor of the world’s first bikini b—b! Hey, where are you taking me? Let me go. My planes’ leaving for Hawaii!” You’ll probably get to repeat the joke to Ahmed, the Afghan goat herder, who got to Guantanamo Bay Resort, by telling the joke about the drug lord and the camel…
If you tell a racist or sexist joke at work? In the iconic words of the pathetcally popular Mr. Ego “You’re fired!” It’s not nice to put people down and make them feel uncomfortable. Humor is not protected by the constitution. But what about political humor? Surely that’s protected right? You can’t lose your job…oh yeah Bill Maher.
Bill Maher is in the midst of a P.R. tour pushing the new season of his show on HBO. I’ve seen him interviewed a couple of times, once on Larry King, and the same question has dogged him, “Do you regret the comment you made after 9/11, on your show “Politically Incorrect”, about the hijackers not being cowards? Did it cost you your job?”
I remember seeing that episode, and thinking “You go boy! Tell it like it is. Let’s keep it honest.” I also knew as soon as he uttered the comment that his job was in jeopardy. ABC Television, not wanting to be accused of lacking a sense of humor, made Maher squirm for a few months before canning him.
To his credit, Bill Maher does not publicly regret his comment, and admits it cost him his job. Looking relaxed and fit, he non-chalantly claims that the show had gotten tired, and ABC probably did him a favor. Well, that’s not how I recall it. Bill Maher, after ABC did not defend him (or free speech), from the attacks of Rove’s Brownshirts, looked anything but relaxed and fit. He appeared as a man defeated in spirit. And it wasn’t until he wrote an article on Huffington Post, defending Israel’s attack on Lebanon’s civilian population, did he really get to wield his shtick again.
Worse was the effect his firing had on political satire. Satire, the last tool of political dissent, had been crushed. The message was clear. Dissent in any form would not be tolerated. What followed were some very un-funny years.
However, dissent did eventually return, and of course it returned once again with satire. Three men risked their careers to try and defend the constitution, and their country, through the use of satire on their t.v. shows. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Keith Olbermann.
They stuck their necks out, when everyone else cowered, and when they didn’t get fired for telling a joke - others felt safe enough to dissent. “Girl, you look good in your suicide swim suit.”