Dateline 8-13-2017

I think it was around the time that Barack Obama was reelected that I started to lose my interest in satire. Where I used to see the back handed jokes as an important way to dumb down a message for the common citizen to consume when the topic at hand would normally not pique their interest. I now see the blending of humor and bad news as more of a way to soften the blow by addressing the issue as a joke by starting the story with outrage and boiling down to the point where there is nothing left to do but laugh.

I mention that this started around the time of Obama's second run for president, not because I feel that he started this trend but it just happened to be the moment in time where I stopped finding simplifying major issues down to a punchline to be something that was all that funny.

For example, it started to drive me crazy when a comedy host would talk about these policies that were signed into action in the cloak of midnight on the eve of a big holiday. Sure the jokes highlighted the shadiness of the deal but their focus was on the late night trickery and not the actual policies being passed. This felt like an illusion to me where it felt like the issue was being addressed while not actually focusing on what was really happening.

Time and time again, a friend would come up to me and say did you hear about this or that from one of the late night comedy shows, then when I would try to add to the conversation with details that I read in the non-comedic news in an effort to add to the outrage the back peddling would inevitably begin to where people wouldn't want to hear the serious side of the news. 

Don't get me wrong, just because I went back to the Obama administration as my jump off point, that by no means that I am pro-Trump but even with him, I can't stand the satirical side of his presidential coverage because it leads to many contradicting views because at the same exact time I am hearing that this orange haired man with tiny hands is nothing but a joke who hates the job and can't get anything done while also being a sinister man with evil plans and the ability to take over the world if we don't keep him in check.

I know that this negative stance on satire might sound strange coming from a man who is currently devoting every extra minute of free time watching every single episode of SNL, but my change in views on this form of funny business is part of the reason I started the challenge in the first place. 

Even though I try to avoid getting political except for from time to time in post like this, I've been keeping personal tabs on news worthy events that were comedically lambasted at the time and being that enough time has passed to where I know the outcomes, I can clearly see that this sort of spreading of news does nothing but put smiles on the commoners face while they continue to get fucked by both sides.

Alright, so there is my political post of the month, stay tuned for September when maybe I'll chime in with another political opinion. Until then, I will continue to keep my views to myself as I continue to post more frivolous content that's supposed to be fun without sneaking in any form of political statement.

Talk to you tomorrow when I check in with another update.

Sincerely,

The Wicker Breaker