Not A Laughing Matter

• 9 years ago

By DONALD DeMARCO

Laughter lifts the spirit. This is why humor is called levity. When we laugh we come closest to levitation. We are, after all, light-hearted beings. Because we can laugh at our troubles means that we can transcend them. Laughter, then, as good medicine, brightens our days and lengthens our lives.

Sam Levenson, as his name might suggest, was an accomplished humorist. He spent the better part of his life collecting jokes and witticisms from every legitimate source available. He passed away in 1980 and may have been one of the last “clean” humorists to have had a prominent place in the media.

In his 1979 book, You Don’t Have to Be in Who’s Who to Know What’s What, he remarks that “people have laughed at everything, except….” He pauses here in mid-sentence because the single exception stops him in his tracks. Then, he writes: “There is virtually no humor on the subject of abortion.” He leaves it to the reader to ponder why abortion is not a laughing matter. At the same time, he leaves more than a hint as to what his own convictions are.

Sam Levenson was the youngest of ten children. He refers to his mother as the woman in Proverbs 31 who is praised for being the “woman of valor, strength, and dignity, whose children rise up and call her blessed.” He takes care to cite the Sanhedrin which declares that he who saves one life on Earth will be credited in Heaven as having saved the whole world. He adds that the “life potential…even at its microscopic tiniest, is already irrevocably programmed for life by life.”

It has been pointed out that there are no odes, songs, or statues in praise of abortion. Why, also, is there no humor? We can laugh our troubles away, but abortion is so dark a reality that it is repressed more than it is addressed. People generally deal with abortion by denying what it is. But abortion is far more than a mere choice. It is an end and its formidable character does not allow it to be a subject for humor. Nonetheless, there is so much, other than abortion, at which we can laugh. Levenson brings us much good cheer.

Concerning frustration: We have learned to space our children. Ten feet apart is just about right.

Concerning suspicion: Whenever Adam came home late at night, Eve counted his ribs.

Concerning disappointment: Money isn’t everything. For example, it isn’t mine.

Concerning fear: With so many funeral homes around, it is not safe to be alive.

Unexpected double meanings: Our tongue sandwiches speak for themselves. Due to the gravediggers’ strike, a skeleton crew will do the digging. My doctor never treated me; I always paid.

Inverting reality: Our teenage children are homesick only when they are home. An atheist is a person who has no invisible means of support. Columbus was wrong; the world is not round, it is crooked.

Irony: When you add to the truth you subtract from it.

Annoyance: The longest word in the world is: “And now a word from our sponsor.”

Poverty: I could be happy with my lot if I had a lot.

Death: “Be an angel and let me drive,” the wife said to her husband. He did and he is.

The Bible: God made Adam before Eve because he did not want any suggestions.

Religion: “We should not permit prayer to be taken out of the schools; that’s the only way most of us got through.”

Wisdom: Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s. But remember that which you render unto God is deductible.

We can laugh because we can rise above the many annoyances of life. We can laugh because we can have a broad perspective on life and realize that even when things go wrong, there is still hope that they will eventually go right. Abortion is not eligible for laughter because of its hopeless finality. The aborted child cannot come back to life.

This is a point that both sides of the issue must recognize and agree upon. Consequently, it could be a starting point for an honest and fruitful debate.

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(Dr. Donald DeMarco is a senior fellow of Human Life International. He is professor emeritus at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario, an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College in Cromwell, Conn., and a regular columnist for St. Austin Review. His latest work, How to Remain Sane in a World That Is Going Mad, is available through Amazon.com. Some of his recent writings may be found at Human Life International’s Truth and Charity Forum.)