Steve's* Comedy Question of the Day
*An extreme far-centrist foundation!
Can We Be Funny During a War?
It depends where it takes place.
by Steve Young

March 25, 2003 -- LOS ANGELES (apj.us) -- D'ja hear the one about the planes that hit the Towers?

I hope not

I am a comedy writer by trade, though many of you have written me in the past with some legitimate challenges to that fact.

As a satirical writer commenting on the issues of the day, I must make daily judgements as to what events make acceptable subjects which will actually make audiences and readers laugh.

Since comedy is so subjective, with the public having a diverse composition of funny bone, the judgment must always be mine. Sometimes I judge wrongly. In comedy there is a collective and unwritten law that "nothing is out of bounds." Even cancer has found their way into standup and film as grist for the comedy mill. Many with terminal disease joke about that particular devil.

But there was one such event that slowed, nay silenced, the humor machine: the attacks of September 11th, 2001.

At the time I wrote an article,"The Humor Will Return. Just Not Yet," pointing out that as Leno, Letterman and most any other who make their money on the backs of laughter, not only held off with the jokes, they canceled their shows all together. Even the Emmys were postponed -- twice.

That made perfect sense. There was an invasion. For all intent and purpose, we were at war. And for God's sake, Americans had died and American lives continued to be in jeopardy.

This past week, a year and a half after that abomination, what has changed? Nothing, except the location. There was an invasion. We are at war. And for God's sake, Americans have died and American lives continue to be in jeopardy.

Why is it that when we are so personally attacked, as we were on 9/11/01, we find no room for the humor? But when we do the attacking, there's no evidence of late night shows canceled, no award shows postponed, no monologues negated. In fact, the war in Iraq continues to be a rich source for material.

What is the difference? As they say in advertising: Location. Location. Location.

The war is thousands of miles away. Even with the 24/7 of cable news, the actual distance of the action from our own shores seems to provide a cushion from pain. A cushion from an affront so personal we can't stomach wit.

Now, I'm certainly not saying that there should be no comedy or entertainment during wartime. We need it at those times more than ever. Norman Cousins wrote well of laughter's rehabilitative powers ("Anatomy Of An Illness," Norton, 1979) during his bout with cancer. Former TV Executive, Sherry Hilber, helped create Rx Laughter, a nonprofit project that studies laughter's benefits for severely sick children and their families at the UCLA School of Medicine

What I am questioning is the American psyche. The part of us where judgement lives. Why isn't the pain and suffering as real when it takes place there? I don't have the answer. And I'm not saying that we should stop the humor now. I'm just asking.

Quite frankly, I need the work.

Steve Young is an award-winning television writer, director/writer of "My Dinner With Ovitz," and author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" (Tallfellow Press). Check out his Web site at www.greatfailure.com.