I really love comedy. I truly enjoy a good laugh and talented comedians.
Yet, there are times, when humor is offensive, destructive, and harmful.
I thought of this recently as I watched people debate a very important topic. Several interjected humor in offensive and degrading ways. While I know their use of humor was meant to bring levity to a tough situation or a way to mask their discomfort, the humor, instead, took people's thoughts away from the seriousness of the situation.
When a situation is serious, we have to stay the course and think deeply about the words we use and the seriousness of our comments. We should not interject humor too often and we should be efficient and targeted with the words we use. Serious issues become too muddy and incoherent when humor and wordiness is ineffectively used.
There is a place and time for humor. The best comedians are very intelligent people that walk this fine line well. For most of us, however, it's best to be mindful of the use of humor and too many words during serious debate and conversation.