Post-election vibe shift
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It's been a while since Americans have burst out in guffaws that come from deep inside their bellies, but that appears to be changing.
There's no denying that the nation's gradual creep toward a full-blown Marxist state during the last decade or so has been killing off humor.
The collective suffering of the pandemic was literally no laughing matter, to say the least – plus, it was hard to laugh wearing a face mask.
Negotiating the lies and the restrictions of deep state "experts" while enduring the horror of loved ones dying alone and without the last rights seemed to ban joy forever.
Even now, it's hard to brave a hearty laugh when inflation still looms large making food and fuel prices out of the financial range for many American families.
As one source puts it, "When confronted with an onslaught of death, despair, and dictatorship, one doesn't usually think: Laugh riot!"
There's no denying the political correctness police have been tying the tongues of comedians and regular folk alike, mandating what we can find funny. But there's evidence things are turning around and that a comedic spring is on the horizon.
A NEW PHENOM
One example of a new round of comedy making viewers laugh out loud is "Tony the Chinese Sign Guy" whose short video clips – part advertisement, but all comedy – are overwhelming the Internet airwaves.
According to Tony's TikTok bio, he is "a Chinese guy" who "sells LED letters for stores with a 3 to 5 years warranty" which "includes shipping fee to North America."
He boasts he can "customize any size and color" and "give[s] a quote within 10 minutes." Shipping is quick too, he says: "It takes 7 days to make a sign and 5 to 7 days for shipping."
People who hadn't thought of buying LED letters are now buying them up, thanks to Tony's ability to crack them up.
at this point, i dont need a sign, i just wanna support this guy lol – online comment
His signature Trump impersonation, including the president's unique pronunciation of "China," tops the favorites list. But he also assumes a diverse array of American dialects while he pokes friendly fun at topics considered verboten just a short while ago.
He's giving a perfect demonstration of how much fun we could be having if we threw off the yoke of political correctness. This guy is a treasure. – online comment
Even reactions to Tony's advertisements elicited humorous comments:
President Trump: Please no tariffs for Tony. :-)
COMIC RELIEF
Americans are even finding a way to joke about the nightmare of open borders. Short fictional videos of funny interactions between ICE agents and suspected illegal aliens are providing a form of comic relief.
Lionel, stage name of radio and media analyst Michael William Lebron, posted a sample above which he wrote: "Admit it. It's funny. You can laugh. Humor is legal again."
TRUMPIAN HUMOR
When Trump was asked recently if he plans to deport British Prince Harry, his answer evoked "rolling on the floor laughing" emojis from many on X.
The question stemmed from alleged discrepancies between Harry's drug use as reported on his visa application vis-à-vis admissions made in his autobiography Spare.
Trump ruled out the possibility of deporting Prince Harry, humorously replying to the amusement of many, "I'll leave him alone. He has enough problems with his wife. She's terrible."
A more gentle example of jocularity was seen when Trump signed an executive order banning men from women's sports.
At the signing event, the president gathered the girl athletes around him in what some described as a "Suffer the little children to come unto Me" moment.
As the president encouraged the girls to gather round, so they could watch him pen his signature on the historic document, he joked about the Secret Service worrying that the girl would pose a threat to him.
He joked: "Secret Service is worried about them?"
These are just a few random examples of humor growing out of, and forming, a new political landscape.
The landscape may be new but the importance of humor and laughter is ancient. Ecclesiastes reminds us –
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. …
The humor of Jesus Christ Himself may be overlooked or lost in centuries of translation. Indeed, humor is a very context-specific business – as we often say, "you had to be there" when our punchline goes over somebody's head.
But it's easy to imagine a humorous irony in the moment Jesus named impetuous St. Peter "the rock upon which I will build my Church." The famously impulsive behavior of the apostle next to Christ's confirmation of him as head of the Church must have been witnessed with a holy amusement by the other disciples.
Jesus' encounters with the Pharisees are full of brilliant one-liners executed with the comedic timing that cannot help but be admired.
Take the plan the Pharisees set to trap Jesus, as recorded in Matthew's chapter 22, for example:
"Teacher," they said, "we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?"
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose image is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
Jesus replied with a perfectly-timed one-line retort that has thundered through the ages: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
THAT'S NO JOKE
Now that Trump has won the election and the Lefties are on the run, maybe now is the time, as Ecclesiastes reminds us, "to laugh."
Of course, we can't let down our guard, but taking time out for more chuckles and guffaws at least gives us a bivouac to prepare for the battles ahead.
The old-fashioned adage that says "laughter is the best medicine" has been forgotten – but is perhaps making a comeback.
Dr. Barbara Toth has a doctorate in rhetoric and composition from Bowling Green State University. She has taught high school in Poland and Oman and at universities in the US, China and Saudi Arabia. Her work in setting up a writing center at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahmen University, an all-women's university in Riyadh, has been cited in American journals. Toth has published academic and non-academic articles and poems internationally.
Editor's note:
HOW SOULS AND LIBERTY WILL MOVE FORWARD THE NEXT FOUR YEARS
There can be no doubt we have witnessed an extraordinary moment in the history of the United States and the world. The election of Donald Trump to a second Presidential term is a great victory for Christian patriots, but it is not a complete or final victory. Rather, it is a reprieve from the ceaseless assaults on life, liberty and faith we have had to endure for four years.
Donald Trump is president once again, and his decisions, Cabinet selections, and force of personality are shaping the United States and the world in ways we could only dream of.
We have a Heaven-sent opportunity to step up and ensure this victory is not merely a one-off, but the first of many and the foundation of a lasting legacy of patriotic, Christian, pro-family policies.
Souls and Liberty will be part of that effort, but we cannot do it without you. It will require reporting and activism of which YOU can be a part.
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Stephen Wynne
Editor-in-Chief, Souls and Liberty
Touchette.