Using Humor At Your Peril?

“Do you hear laughter, Ramses?” The Ten Commandments

Ramses didn’t like the idea that the other royals and former slaves of the ancient world were laughing at him. It was a taunt strong enough to set him on the chase that would eventually land all his soldiers on the bottom of the Red Sea. At least that’s how it happens in the movie. The scene, however, is plausible. Laughter has always been a two-edged sword, with the ability to both oppress people or defeat the oppressors. In the ancient world, the wrong joke at the wrong time might get you in serious trouble.

A lawyer might say, “you use humor at your peril.”

Yet, we see in history the role of the court jester, the King’s Fool, who could usually make the crowned head the target of just about any joke. This was because, either purposefully, or instinctively, court jesters provided the necessary “comic relief” to defuse tense situations, castle intrigue, and general grumblings. It allowed everyone to laugh without risk — at least most of the time.

Laughter has helped people survive through horrible situations, providing sometimes just a fleeting respite. Still, as humans we crave laughter — for social bonding, for stress relief, for temporarily feeling in control of the unmanageable, for pain relief and so much more.