Ouch! That’s hilarious!

Satire.  It’s one of the most powerful tools/weapons in politics and public discourse.  Modern masters of this art form include Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, pretty much everyone who’s ever been on SNL.

The mark of great satire is, of course, when it succeeds in shining the harsh light of truth on a behavior, belief, of institution in such a way that there is no effective response.  To laugh it off is to deny the truth in the joke.  To respond to it seriously only serves to validate it.  In this way, satire can can take a subtle, unacknowledged reality, and in a few moments of humor turn it into widely-accepted matter-of-fact. 

Of course, the best satire hits a little close to home.   As much as we want to be laughing with everyone else, we are also the ones being laughed at.  This is, perhaps, the most useful aspect of satire; its ability to highlight our foibles in a way that doesn’t make us feel defensive, but still gives us a little something to think about the next time we find ourselves in a certain situation.

Why am I writing about this now?  Well, I happened to be on the receiving end of a brutally effective (and therefore funny) piece of satire yesterday, thanks to one of my favorite sites: Stuff White People Like.  Enjoy.