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I love satire.
The unforgettable Molly Ivins once said, “Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.”
Others have discussed it more extensively.
In a 48-page Senior Honors Project Paper, The Power of Ridicule: An Analysis of Satire, Megan LeBoeuf at the University of Rhode Island writes:
Satire is a powerful art form which has the ability to point out the deficiencies in certain human behaviors and the social issues which result from them in such a way that they become absurd, even hilarious, which is therefore entertaining and reaches a wide audience. Satire also has the ability to protect its creator from culpability for criticism, because it is implied rather than overtly stated; in this way, it becomes a powerful tool for dissenters in difficult or oppressive political and social periods.
LeBoeuf continues:
What better tool than satire exists for voicing criticisms in these unstable times?
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Satire is more alive today than ever before, finding outlets in literature, television, the internet, comics and cartoons. Messages that would be ignored or punished if overtly declared are reaching millions of people in satirical form, and making a real difference.
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It may be the most powerful tool that critics have to get their opinions out into the world.
LaFeminista, the popular columnist at the Daily Kos, also quotes Molly Ivins and says:
I miss Molly, and I would add that the powerful and their handmaidens the media have been mocking us for too long with their vacuous statements and misinformation. The hot air blown and the twenty four hour news cycle have flooded us with vapidity.
She concludes, “Since I have almost zero power by having little real wealth and only a vote once every now and then, then the only way to hit hard is through mockery. I just wish I was better at it.”
As I mentioned, I love satire, I have tried my hand at it. I just wish I was much, much better at it.
Fortunately, my wish to become better at satire — much, much better — may be inadvertently aided by real life.
Let me explain.
Politicians, especially those from “the other side” — no satire here — do and say such unbelievably outrageous things that just reporting on them appears to be satire to many. I have called this “life imitating satire,” or is it “satire imitating life?” Or perhaps “life imitating satire imitating life.”
These days, “real life” and satire seem to conflate in such a way that, oftentimes, they are indistinguishable.
So much that readers — such as here — feel the need to consult “Snopes.com” to see if it is “real” or just satire.
There are so many good satirists that it is not necessary for an amateur satirist like me to torment readers with my attempts at it, although I — narcissist that I am — may still try my hand at it once in a while.
One of these good — superb is a better word — satirists is my beloved (can I say that?) Andy Borowitz.
Borowitz, a New York Times best-selling author and a comedian, created the Borowitz Report, “a satirical news column that has millions of readers around the world” and was acquired by The New Yorker in 2012.
I have already quoted Borowitz’ inimitable satirical take on a couple of currents events, such as when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted the President for “eliminating the fear of deportation, which is the great engine of the American economy” and — on the heels of the Eric Garner travesty — on the new plan to “supply grand-jury members with eyes.”
I hope to be able to continue to bring to our readers on a regular basis more of Andy Borowitz’ marvelous coverage of GOP outrages satire, along with some of my attempts at it.
Those who don’t like Andy’s or my political satire, well, deal with it!
No, I take that back. As Molly Ivins also said, “I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel — it’s vulgar.”
Isn’t satire wonderful?
Lead image: www.shutterstock.com
Edited to add:
Do not regret growing old
It is a privilege denied to many
Unknown author
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.