Comedians are Beacons of Free Speech
Three Point Essay #25 | Comics Expressing Thoughtcrimes
The following is an essay I wrote for a university class I’m currently enrolled in, called ‘Humor in society.’
Freedom of speech is the 1st amendment in the United States for a reason. It serves as an error-correcting mechanism. Censorship stops this function. By not allowing people to evaluate all available information, it negates error correcting.
The best way to set people up to think reasonably and make good decisions is not to shield them from wrong ‘disinformation’/‘misinformation’/whatever you want to call it. It is to let everyone have a voice, while doing our best to educate ourselves, think critically, and be open-minded. Freedom of speech is the backbone of progress. If it does not exist, we bury perspectives that could have truth in them. Limiting speech is a fatal mistake for a society.
Uno
Enter the comic.
As discussed in this course, humor often touches on taboo subjects. Comedians express ideas that many people feel deep down, but wouldn’t dare say themselves for any number of reasons (inappropriate, not politically correct etc). This is one element of what makes jokes, jokes.
But jokes being funny are not what gets comedians into trouble. It is when people perceive the jokes as a threat. And people perceive jokes as a threat when they are critical of their political ideology and agenda. They get offended.
The great thing about the United States is that we have comedians who have the freedom to say ludicrous things, about anyone. A comic in the U.S. can say something insane, but upon receiving backlash go ‘Hey man I’m a comedian just doing my job.’ That is the beauty of it in my view. But this is more than hilarious beauty. It is a crucial aspect of a free society.
Writer and philosopher Nassim Taleb once wrote that “jokes cannot be jokes unless they are offensive somewhere.” And if comedians are not free to offend people, incompetence of any form can continue on unchecked. If a comedian is not free to point out the lies of a politician, fakeness of a media personality, or the over-inflated ego of an athlete, then these figures can continue to wreak havoc.
Just because these people may take offense to the remarks of a comedian does not mean that they aren’t being liars, cheats, or assholes. The readings on Plato express how one of the main things that humans laugh at is vice. Definitions of vice include “wicked behavior, defects, negative character traits, or criminal activities.”
If no one can make fun of others’ vices, that’s a problem, isn’t it? Everyone has vices, and it’s important to get called out on them sometimes. Criticism hurts but is often beneficial in the long run.
The importance of comics being able to make fun of politicians is especially important, because of all the influence they have. And because of the way figures on the left and right craft divisive narratives to whip up support. This creates ideological cults where anyone who doesn’t follow the narratives like a puppy dog gets labeled as the enemy. But as you know, an independent thinker will never have all their beliefs neatly lined up into one little basket. Because it doesn’t make sense. Agreeing with every idea that one party or 'side' tells you about our complex world is sickeningly idiotic. But I digress.
Political narratives trap people into tribalistic thinking. We evolved understanding the world through stories. Politicians leverage this aspect of our nature by telling you all sorts of stories about how the other ‘side’ spreads lies, propaganda, and dis/mis/-information. When in reality it’s often simply a different, genuine perspective.
The result: “How can anyone think this?! These ideas are dangerous. We must silence them, for the good and safety of everyone!”
But as British author Douglas Murray said: “Disagreement is not oppression. Argument is not assault. Words – even provocative or repugnant ones – are not violence. The answer to speech we do not like is more speech.”
Comedians often step in and provide that ‘more speech’ Murray refers to. For both sides. Dave Chappelle is an all-time comedian and provides great examples of this. When Trump was president, Chappelle did not hold back on making fun of him in his stand-up. Some people on the right probably didn’t like this. Oh well. More recently, Chapelle derided transgenders–a controversial movement to say the least–in his specials. For this he received fierce backlash from the leftist types. Oh well.
The important thing is that he was able to say these things. Would it have been better if he couldn’t say them, because it hurt some feelings? No. Censorship is never the answer.
This is why the comic is a beacon of free speech. They say the ‘unsayable’. And the unsayable often contains a layer of insult. As one of the moodle readings said, “Aristotle agreed with Plato that laughter is essentially derisive and that in being amused by someone we are finding that person inferior in some way.”
Dos
To pivot, comics as beacons of free speech is not only about the freedom to say ridiculous or offensive (funny) things. It is also about telling the truth.
In the Eastman reading, Charlie Chaplin described his art of making people laugh as “telling people the plain truth of things.” This is why jokes about politicians are hilarious. Because it’s literally their job to be liars. Take Joe Biden. He’s clearly corrupt and senile, but he’s still smiling away and making empty promises. Or take Trump—a greedy ego-maniac—preaching the Bible, and praised by his cronies as a ‘man of God.’ Or last but not least consider Kamala Harris, she's touted as intelligent and inspiring…but have you ever heard her speak?
It's important for comedians to be able to make fun of these lunatics. Checks and balances.
Sigmund Freud said that humor is liberating. Because it often contains truth. This is why hearing comedians cut through the nonsense of politicians is freeing for the mind.
But people wouldn’t be able to experience this mental liberation if comedians didn’t have the freedom to criticize them in the first place.
Tres
Can you imagine being a stand-up comedian in North Korea?
Are you going to get on that stage and make fun of Kim Jong-Un for being fat? How is that going to workout for you?
Now, while acknowledging we’re over-simplifying complex historical processes, let’s compare societies. North Korea is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. The United States is the wealthiest and most influential country in the world. The catalyst for that being the case? Freedom. And freedom starts with the freedom to say what you want. There’s a reason George Washington said “If freedom of speech is taken away than dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Ordinary citizens in North Korea are the dumb and silent sheep, eating bugs and toiling in fields, living centuries behind the rest of the world, in part because they don’t have free speech. There are no comedians over there saying ‘Hey guys, you ever notice that fat lard Kim Jong isn’t actually a god? And that, uh, the rest of the world has this thing called electricity? And the internet? When are we getting those? I bet that imbecile Kim doesn’t know how to use them. What an idiot.” If there were, it wouldn’t go well for them.
Nor can I imagine it would go well for a comedian in China saying “Don’t you guys think it’s whack how Xi Jingping is keeping his power for the longest time any leader has since that clown Mao Zedong? Don’t we remember what happened when that communist prick stayed in charge? Do you think Xi is doing this because he’s mad he’s so ugly? Fuck that guy, for real.”
Or how would it go for a Russian posting comedy online saying “What’s up with jackass Putin? Like, it’s not the 1940s my dude. We’re still fighting wars of territorial expansion? Doesn’t he see how poor we are? This isn’t going to solve that! He must be doing these because he’s pissed that he’s so short. Classic Napoleon syndrome, am I right? And why is he locking up Britney Griner? Has he not been getting any action and needs some that bad? Hahaaaa. What a bum.”
In the U.S., we have comedians who have the freedom to say things like that about out leaders. Comedians are beacons of free speech.
Most importantly, comedians remind us to stop taking everything so seriously. They remind us how difficult this group project civilization is. They remind us how absurd it is to be a human being.
My Favorite Comedians
In no particular order, Bill Burr, Dave Chapelle, Tim Dillon, Gabriel Iglesias, Andrew Schulz, Joe Rogan, and most of my friends make me laugh so hard I struggle to breathe.
Franny Sull
I don’t remember meeting my dad’s father. He died when I was a baby. I once asked my uncle Joe what he was like. Joe said “he liked sports, gambling, drinking, politics, and he never listened to anyone.” I wish I could talk to him. He sounds hilarious.
If you made it this far, drop a prediction in the comments on what grade I’ll receive from my professor for this essay ;)
Good luck on the paper!
HI JEFF:
WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON KANYE WEST AND FREE SPEECH?
JIM