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Where
Has Humor Gone?by
Peary Perry | |
Someone
once said that 'humor is the best medicine.'
I sincerely wish I could
find that person and have him appear on national television to explain just what
he meant. Our country is losing its sense of humor and we need to find it again.
Where did it go?
Last week, Senator Joe Biden made a comment about
Senator Barak Obama to the effect that he 'was clean and articulate'. The reactions
to his statement have dominated the media for more days than I'd like to count.
In Biden's defense, I believe he was trying to compliment Senator Obama not put
him down in any way. I am not a big fan of Senator Biden, but come on, give the
guy a chance. Let's not crucify everyone over each and every word we say. Biden
explained that he thought Obama was 'clean as a whistle' which is a common enough
term and one that no one should find offensive.
President Bush was on
the news yesterday defending some similar comment he had made along the same lines.
Again, his comments were made in a complimentary tone, not a derogative one. Last
night the talking heads were each spending way more time than necessary parsing
each and every word in the same manner that was probably used to describe how
many angels you could get on the head of a pin. As if this information or even
the discussion really mattered. Give it a rest.
I find it disturbing that
we have to be so careful these days over anything we either say or do in order
not to offend anyone at any time for any reason. Where are we headed? I was once
married to a woman who analyzed each and every word out of her mouth before she
said it. Trust me it was not fun. You always had the notion that she was saying
what she thought you wanted to hear, not what she actually thought. It drove me
crazy…..I felt sorry for her since I never really felt like she could let down
and just say what was on her mind.
Don't get me wrong, I do think we should
be careful not to say that that hurt other people's feelings, but give me a break,
how politically correct can we aspire to be? I mean, if you want to be really
PC, then the best thing to do is not say anything at all to anyone, ever. There
isn't a person alive who could say every word perfect without their words being
misunderstood by someone looking to pick a fight.
Most of us, my age anyway,
are scared to death to compliment someone for fear their words will be taken the
wrong way. I can remember when I first started in business many years ago when
you felt comfortable enough to tell some young lady at your office that her dress
was pretty or that her new hairdo looked nice. Not any longer. In my mind those
words can lead to a law suit. How many times have you noticed something stuck
to the back of someone's coat or jacket and removed it for them? I wouldn't do
this to a man these days, much less some woman. I go out of my way not to touch
anyone I don't know. How sad for our society that common actions can be so misinterpreted
and misconstrued.
I still open doors for women. I don't think it is wrong
to do so and I guess I'll keep on doing it until someone hits me upside the head
or cusses me out, or both. I have noticed that about 75% of the women I open a
door for, at say, the post office …thank me. The other 25% looks at me as if I
am odd or they give me a resentful glare.
I don't much care if they do;
I think it is the right thing to do. If I'm on one of those shuttle buses taking
me from the airport to the rental car agencies and some lady gets on with a child,
I still get up and give or at least offer them my seat. Sad to say, even they
are often afraid to take me up on my offer, for some reason or another.
I don't consider these actions to be sexist or racist in any way, it's just the
way I was brought up to act. I don't see women as inferior; I just think it a
matter of courtesy, the same as I would if I offered my seat on a bus or train
to some elderly (older than me) person. I suppose in the days to come I can expect
some older person to slap me on the head with a cane or an umbrella.
So
be it, I'll just laugh and keep on going. It's worked so far. |
©
Peary Perry
Letters From North
America >
February 7, 2007 column
Syndicated weekly in 80 newspapers
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to www.pearyperry.com |
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