Comedian
Modern jokers; incarnations uniquely tasked with safeguarding humanity – the most important person in the kingdom.
The last bastion of truth in a world where everyone else has been purchased.
An anchor for authority, never a tool. Those suckled by the establishment are political prostitutes, not comedians.
The most difficult people to control, which makes them among the most dangerous to those with illegitimate power. Bearers of legitimate power do not fear comedians; the truth does not threaten them. Comedians are master tacticians that weaponize humility and honesty to unite ordinary citizens, a feature that is desirable in leadership but is often sorely lacking.
Professional purveyors of humour, they are positioned to combine insight with levity to maintain a clear sense of equality that is accessible to everyone. Their disarming nature is exactly what makes them so powerful.
Comedians are widely celebrated for a litany of reasons. They assist us with alleviating stress, they instill courage by taking chances with their jokes, and they build empathy by exposing the audience to novel perspectives. They embed impolite truths into their routines so we can experience the relief of common sanity. They make room for the human condition to breathe.
By their nature, comedians are likely to produce controversy. While busybodies who are perpetually incapable of controlling themselves are likely to take exception, others simply do not enjoy their turn under the knife. This is to be expected, but it is irrelevant. There are more important things at stake than the public execution of our egos, and many would argue that if our ego is capable of being taken out by a comedian, then we likely had it coming.
The triumph of our ego precedes the fall of our humanity, and comedians are the bulwark.
For the modest, comedians may entertain, but the risks of pathological hubris are low. It is the affluent, the elite, the wealthy and powerful, celebrities, and the hubristic that comedians target, and it is done for the sake of the fodder and the audience alike.
Historically, a joker was a person tasked with the responsibility of entertaining a monarch, frequently with humour. After all, a monarch with no humour is a dangerous person indeed; without humour, there is no laughter, and in the absence of laughter, even the most benevolent soul loses itself. In literature, the joker is frequently a symbol of common sense and honesty, his position being one where truths, especially uncomfortable ones, can be embedded in humour due to his licence to mock and speak freely in the presence of the monarch. Often when a remark is directed at the monarch, if it makes the subjects laugh, then the monarch will typically follow suit. Reminding ordinary citizens that the monarch is mortal is extremely important for keeping the peace. The monarch who believes themselves beyond ridicule will not remain in good graces for long - he or she is not a transcendent being, they are subject to human standards.
A monarch is a proxy for anyone who, due to their status, enjoys more privileges and fewer consequences than ordinary citizens, if any at all. Their lives are insulated from the realities that most of us face, their entourage supplies them with virtually anything they want, and ordinary citizens revere them. Currently, monarchs are absent from most countries, but they have been sufficiently replaced with an affluent ruling class comprised of the targets that the comedian favours. It is a class who enjoys fewer vulnerabilities, and for those who suffer greater vulnerabilities on average, opportunities at capturing leverage are always worthy of consideration. Nothing soothes the human soul quite like the revenge that staves our existential resentment.
Wise monarchs employ jokers specifically for this purpose. They recognize that their status will alter their perceptions over time to the point that they may start to consider positions that are entirely detached from reality, and they may lose themselves as they victimize the citizenry in tandem. The joker does not pose a threat due to his status - he cannot challenge the crown in any legitimate manner, he is just a joker after all. The joker is therefore uniquely positioned to remind the monarch that they are only human through mockery while they remain unworthy of punishment as an untouchable.
The joker pulls all the angels and gods down from heaven, and lifts all of the demons and devils up from hell, to a plane where all of humanity can be mocked as equals.
The comedian is the arbiter of fairness in a world where it is difficult to find. They are a symbol of aspirational humanity. A feature of the fair application of mutual respect is that everyone can be equally disrespected. If some people shall be respected and others not, this is not fair; if some can be disrespected and others not, this is not fair either. Comedians establish a landscape where everyone is equally capable of accessing respect, and this is most easily done by including everyone in a game of ridicule. Whenever you imply that someone is beyond ridicule, you elevate them beyond the scope of humanity, and you eliminate them as a player in this game.
What will happen to someone if they have been placed on a pedestal beyond the reach of mockery? They are receiving a reinforcement that the rules we are subject to do not apply to them, and if they start to believe it, they may start acting like it. A human unbound by the restraints of social cohesion, even if it is from the freedom to be ridiculed, will not maintain their MODESTY for long. The joker is the failsafe.
The comedian is the ground to the lightning that defines the monarch, and acts as a guardian of their humanity should they become susceptible to the influence of being adored without exception. After all, the monarch remains a susceptible human, and as such, their mind can become warped by the power, adoration, sex, and drink that accompanies their post. There is no greater sin that a monarch can commit against their humanity than to punish the joker for excelling at their function, because without the joker, who dares to take on the risk of grounding the monarch? No one else occupies the position that is considered so foolish that they may speak freely in the face of real power.
A monarch untethered from the constraints of humanity loses sight of the most important thing that accompanies the acceptance of vulnerability: ethics. A monarch without a recognition that they are vulnerable not only as a mortal, but as being susceptible to the influence of their status, is a creature capable of the most horrific atrocities, and one day they may feel it worthwhile to engage in some resentful behaviour. But what exactly would someone with everything have to be resentful about?
Living a life filled with luxuries, influence, power, protection, status, and typically a readily available source of food and sexual partners would be enough to satisfy someone, would it not? Depending on the person, perhaps. For other less introspective, less reflective, and less grateful monarchs, escaping the undertow of the human condition is far more difficult. Noticing that discomfort, unease, dissatisfaction, and hopelessness continues to plague us even when we seem to have everything is burdensome. This is especially concerning because the subject is someone who enjoys more influence and less vulnerabilities on average, someone who people follow and adore, and who have received constant reinforcements that they are more than a mere mortal. These are the sorts of people who provide themselves warrant to tinker in the lives of others - they may even view it as their duty to guide ‘lesser’ beings. This is a mind that confuses their good fortune, success, or status with one that is fit for leadership or rule.
The desire to control aspects of our lives, and potentially others, does not diminish with status. In fact, we are very likely to view our growing status as a validation of our ethos, and we may use it to rationalize our desire to engineer the world. This is not an indictment of tyrants; it is a description of humanity. Such contortions persist as temptations on our journey through life. Not everyone is tempted, but if we are, we expect that jokers rise to the occasion, to rescue us from the pit of the inhumane.
The artistry of a joker is unparalleled. They do not wage wars, they do not assassinate, they do not raise a fist, nor do they encourage mobs to carry out edicts against potential threats. They use only words, and they use them while occupying the lowest status position in society: someone who is never to be taken seriously under any circumstances. Ironically, this is precisely what provides them with protections afforded to no one else when truths must be spoken in the face of authority. This is exactly the point.
Comedians counterbalance the human susceptibility to status. Part of the reason why politicians and celebrities become so insufferable over time is because they have a steady and reliable line of interactions with people that reinforce their self-perception of possessing status and affluence. Being perpetually empowered and fawned over has a disinhibiting effect, and these reinforcements produce an inaccurate depiction of reality and our place in it. Our capacity to make coherent judgments is likely to become significantly impaired as our sense of self-importance and duty increase steadily over time. This combination of factors is what introduces the risk of having our humanity slip away, this is the necessity of comedians.
Each of us is deserving of this ridicule for the ridiculous, and each of us will have our turn against the wall. But for clarity’s sake, I will provide some examples of when we may be particularly susceptible to different sorts of reinforcements, those where we can become twisted in the absence of honesty, common sense, and ridicule.
Here is a short list:
-Parents
-Teachers/Principals
-Media personalities
-Politicians
-Club organizers
-Business owners
-Authors
-Experts in any field
-Athletes
-Strong personality in a group
-Dominant one in a relationship
-Members of a protected class
-People with disabilities
-People with mental health problems
-Diplomats
-Religious fundamentalists
-Narrow-minded atheists
-Children
-People under 30 years of age
-Ideologues
-Figureheads
-Managers
-Law enforcement officers
-Representatives
-Special interest groups
-Mental health professionals
-Doctors
-Everyone.
This is not a condonation of cruelty. Ridicule is not the same as cruelty, which is virtually impossible to justify, even by the most creative philosophers. A joke is not an act of cruelty, because the truth cannot be cruel. Do not conflate these two.
Comedy is the great equalizer because if everyone can be made a mockery, then we are at least equal at that. If anyone starts to get the crazy idea that they are beyond ridicule, comedians are here to pull us back in, and laughter typically follows. Someone who cannot laugh at themselves and all their shortcomings cannot be trusted, because they afford themselves courtesies that they would not share with others. Comedians keep us honest about our humanity by reminding us that we cannot escape it.
Silence a comedian and we will all pay the price, all because someone thinks that they are too good to be human.
Posted: 6 Mar 2023
