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Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Opinion - There's no humor in tyranny, but there's power in laughter
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts recently honored comedian Conan O'Brien with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The center's new chairman and self-appointed Commissar of Culture, President Donald Trump, did not attend this first major event in our new 'golden age' of American arts and culture. Seems like a missed opportunity. But it's probably just as well. Tyrants, as a rule, aren't very good at laughing at themselves. And Trump is notoriously thin-skinned. He probably wouldn't have enjoyed John Mulaney's suggestion that the post-purge Kennedy Center would soon be renamed 'The Roy Cohn Pavilion of Big Strong Men Who Love Cats.' O'Brien himself did not mention Trump by name. But he did have a lot to say about Twain and the principles that shaped his character and his comedy, principles that made him not only a great American humorist but also a great American. He noted that 'Twain hated bullies,' 'punched up, not down' and 'deeply, deeply empathized with the weak.' He said Twain was 'allergic to hypocrisy' and 'loathed racism.' 'Twain empathized with the powerless in America: former slaves struggling in Reconstruction, immigrant Chinese laborers in California, and European Jews fleeing antisemitism,' he noted. He added that 'Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age, and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance.' 'Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the word; he loved America but knew it was deeply flawed,' O'Brien said, quoting Twain's definition of patriotism as 'supporting your country all of the time, and your government when it deserves it.' Conan's description of Twain made me think of another great humorist and citizen — the late Norman Lear, TV producer and founder of People For the American Way, the organization I lead. 'I am a patriot,' Lear declared on his 99th birthday, 'and I will not surrender that word to those who play to our worst impulses rather than our highest ideals.' He was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors shortly after Trump took office the first time. After Lear made clear that he would not attend a pre-event reception at Trump's White House, Trump stayed away from the honors altogether. Now he wants to host them. Lear, who reveled in the absurdity of the human condition, would probably have chuckled at the idea — even as he would have cried at what is being done in and to our country. We should all be horrified that a barber was declared a terrorist by presidential edict and not given any chance to challenge that charge before being deported to a notorious prison in a foreign country. We should all be horrified that a Fulbright scholar was abducted off the street, put into detention and threatened with expulsion, apparently because she signed an op-ed not to the president's liking. We should all be horrified that a French scientist was turned away at the border, possibly for just having dared to criticize Trump's cuts to scientific research. And that's on top of the reckless dismantling and undermining of programs that protect people from corporate wrongdoing and help keep millions of Americans from sliding into poverty. Trump is abusing the power of the presidency to undermine freedom, punish his personal enemies and impose his will on universities, law firms and news networks. He doesn't seem to care how many Americans end up as collateral damage. And when federal judges have done their jobs and required that Trump's team abide by the law and Constitution, the president and his cronies have responded by calling for a purge of the federal courts. It's all deadly serious, even if Trump himself is a buffoon. Twain, who was a great satirist, could have had a field day with him. We have our own satirists, and we should be grateful for them, because humor is an essential survival strategy for those who find themselves living under repressive regimes. Late-night humor didn't keep Trump from being elected, and it won't by itself stop our descent into fascism. But it can help. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat notes that humor has long been used to disrupt the normalization of authoritarian cruelty and violence. Humor, she has written, 'can be a way to cope with fear and dread in circumstances where freedom has been vanquished.' And, importantly, it can validate, encourage, and inspire us to effective resistance. So, when the news makes you unsure whether to laugh or cry, you should probably do a bit of both. It's all part of what O'Brien called 'the glorious mess of being human.' It's our humanity, and our commitment to defend the humanity of those around us, that can get us through the not-so-glorious mess we're in. Svante Myrick is president of People For the American Way. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
There's no humor in tyranny, but there's power in laughter
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts recently honored comedian Conan O'Brien with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The center's new chairman and self-appointed Commissar of Culture, President Donald Trump, did not attend this first major event in our new ' golden age ' of American arts and culture. Seems like a missed opportunity. But it's probably just as well. Tyrants, as a rule, aren't very good at laughing at themselves. And Trump is notoriously thin-skinned. He probably wouldn't have enjoyed John Mulaney's suggestion that the post-purge Kennedy Center would soon be renamed 'The Roy Cohn Pavilion of Big Strong Men Who Love Cats.' O'Brien himself did not mention Trump by name. But he did have a lot to say about Twain and the principles that shaped his character and his comedy, principles that made him not only a great American humorist but also a great American. He noted that 'Twain hated bullies,' 'punched up, not down' and 'deeply, deeply empathized with the weak.' He said Twain was 'allergic to hypocrisy' and 'loathed racism.' 'Twain empathized with the powerless in America: former slaves struggling in Reconstruction, immigrant Chinese laborers in California, and European Jews fleeing antisemitism,' he noted. He added that 'Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age, and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance.' 'Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the word; he loved America but knew it was deeply flawed,' O'Brien said, quoting Twain's definition of patriotism as 'supporting your country all of the time, and your government when it deserves it.' Conan's description of Twain made me think of another great humorist and citizen — the late Norman Lear, TV producer and founder of People For the American Way, the organization I lead. 'I am a patriot,' Lear declared on his 99th birthday, 'and I will not surrender that word to those who play to our worst impulses rather than our highest ideals.' He was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors shortly after Trump took office the first time. After Lear made clear that he would not attend a pre-event reception at Trump's White House, Trump stayed away from the honors altogether. Now he wants to host them. Lear, who reveled in the absurdity of the human condition, would probably have chuckled at the idea — even as he would have cried at what is being done in and to our country. We should all be horrified that a barber was declared a terrorist by presidential edict and not given any chance to challenge that charge before being deported to a notorious prison in a foreign country. We should all be horrified that a Fulbright scholar was abducted off the street, put into detention and threatened with expulsion, apparently because she signed an op-ed not to the president's liking. We should all be horrified that a French scientist was turned away at the border, possibly for just having dared to criticize Trump's cuts to scientific research. And that's on top of the reckless dismantling and undermining of programs that protect people from corporate wrongdoing and help keep millions of Americans from sliding into poverty. Trump is abusing the power of the presidency to undermine freedom, punish his personal enemies and impose his will on universities, law firms and news networks. He doesn't seem to care how many Americans end up as collateral damage. And when federal judges have done their jobs and required that Trump's team abide by the law and Constitution, the president and his cronies have responded by calling for a purge of the federal courts. It's all deadly serious, even if Trump himself is a buffoon. Twain, who was a great satirist, could have had a field day with him. We have our own satirists, and we should be grateful for them, because humor is an essential survival strategy for those who find themselves living under repressive regimes. Late-night humor didn't keep Trump from being elected, and it won't by itself stop our descent into fascism. But it can help. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat notes that humor has long been used to disrupt the normalization of authoritarian cruelty and violence. Humor, she has written, 'can be a way to cope with fear and dread in circumstances where freedom has been vanquished.' And, importantly, it can validate, encourage, and inspire us to effective resistance. So, when the news makes you unsure whether to laugh or cry, you should probably do a bit of both. It's all part of what O'Brien called 'the glorious mess of being human.' It's our humanity, and our commitment to defend the humanity of those around us, that can get us through the not-so-glorious mess we're in.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘A real fear': Nikki Glaser says she's scared to make political jokes in the Trump era
Comedian Nikki Glaser is warning about the chilling effect Donald Trump's second term has had on the country's comedy landscape. Glaser said there's 'a real fear' among some comedians that they could be 'detained' over political jokes, especially those involving the president. 'Like, you just are scared that you're gonna get doxxed and death threats, or who knows where this leads, like, detained,' Glaser told Deadline on Sunday. 'Honestly, that's not even like a joke,' she continued. 'It's like a real fear. So it's unfortunate that that's true, but I'm not gonna lie and say I don't think about that sometimes and go, 'Oh, God. Can I just say, I hope they all know, I can be up on the gallows and say I was just joking. I'm a comedian.' I hope that that's a defense.' The comedian, known for brutally honest celebrity roasts, also told The Hill she no longer 'felt safe' including political jokes in her routines. 'I missed that moment where I could say stuff, because I had a point of view and I felt safe speaking to that,' Glaser said. 'I went from being like, 'I don't want to talk about politics because I don't want to alienate anyone,' to like, 'I want to talk about it but now I'm scared to.' And that's just that's a s‑‑‑-y place to be.' Glaser made the comments at Sunday's ceremony for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The event, celebrating honoree Conan O'Brien, was held in the shadow of a slow-rolling controversy at the performing arts center. Back in February, Trump fired multiple members of the board of trustees and appointed himself chairman. Trump vowed to rid the center of 'woke' influences, drag shows and 'anti-American propaganda.' Not all of Glaser's fellow comedians shied away from mocking the president at Sunday's ceremony. John Mulaney joked that the Kennedy Center would soon be renamed 'The Roy Cohn Pavilion for Big, Strong Men Who Love 'Cats,'' a reference to Trump's late mentor, political fixer Roy Cohn and the president's affinity for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Will Ferrell said the event was a distraction since he was 'supposed to be shutting down the Department of Education' instead of attending. During his acceptance speech, O'Brien appeared to make a thinly veiled reference to Trump in his praise for the prize's namesake, telling the crowd, 'Twain hated bullies ... He punched up, not down. And he deeply, deeply empathized with the weak ... Twain was allergic to hypocrisy and he loathed racism. Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance.' 'Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the world,' O'Brien added. 'He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote, 'Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.'' This article was originally published on
