One of the first fatalities when a totalitarian government takes over is the free expression of humor. Think about it. Totalitarian governments are humorless, by definition. Not only do they have no sense of humor; they squash every attempt to get laughs that they can find. Why? Genuine humor, again by definition, is subversive. The real Adolph Hitler never would have been a great guest on, say, Saturday Night Live. The absurdity of the idea of Hitler's being such a guest, from my perspective in the here and now, is amusing, however. Hitler, not funny. Hitler, being made fun of without realizing it, very funny.
I nonetheless regard with increasing trepidation events of late in Russia. A government spokesman there recently denounced the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, asserting that its "unfortunate stereotypes" were enough to re-ignite the Cold War. The statement is absurd on its face, so it's very funny. The spokesman who said it was deadly serious, which is not in the least bit funny--it's frightening. And it speaks ill of Russia's future direction, and thus hope for world political stability. [Then again, maybe it's not so bad after all. With Boris and Natasha coming back, can Rocky and Bullwinkle be far behind?--Ed.]
If this whole thing were an Apple commercial, the US would be the Mac and Russia would be the PC. "PC's Number Two! PC's Number Two!" Only this PC has the capability of throwing nukes all over the place if its government gets its collective knickers in enough of a twist. Oh, I am mixing my similes and metaphors, aren't I? Well, it's late, I'm tired, and my synapses make extra silly connections under such circumstances.
I wouldn't last long under a totalitarian regime. I cannot live without air, water, and food. I cannot live well without humor.
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