Humor In the Eye of the Non-Beholder

                                        Humor In the Eye of the Non-Beholder

                                                                   by

                                                                      Jay Agan

      I don't like "happy" people. Not only are they "happy" but they want you to be "happy" too. "Happy" for no particular reason. You've met them.

      "C'mon! Smile!" They say.

      "Why?" You answer.

      "Because!"

      "Because what?"

      "Just because!"

      Irrational. If there's no cause then there's no because.

      "Do you know it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile?" A favorite mantra of theirs. Your not smiling doesn't necessarily mean you're frowning. They mistake a relaxed face as a frown. Then again, they mistake a lot of things for unhappiness.

      Ayn Rand stated to the effect that happiness is the positive emotion recieved through achieving something from following your own values. You have to be happy for a reason. Happiness for no reason is irrational, corrupt, chaotic. I worked in an institution for several years & encountered a lot of smiling, "happy" people.

      Unlike most Randroids, if I'm feeling good for no reason I'm not going to hit the brakes & try to find a reason for it. I'll go with it. A little spontaneous irrationality can be fun. But to "consciously" drum up causless "happiness"? To feel good on command? Ridiculous! Reminds me of that Huckleberry Hound cartoon where as Robin Hood he exhorts his not so merry men to "Yuck it up!". They in turn go "Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!".

      Those who insist on irrationally feeling good are the most unhappy of all. They aren't out to find happiness as much as they are looking for unhappiness to cure. If they can't find it they'll make it up.

      Here's a fer instance. I was a cashier at an unmentionable merchandising chain (Not Wal-Mart by the way.) & met/collided with all sorts of people. As this place had a pharmacy this included some of the over/under medicated.

      So I'm bantering with a customer about "Murphys Laws of Combat" (A set of bogus "rules" based on Murphys Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. At the worst possible moment.). A form of "black humor" (Laughing/contempt for death is a positive thing.) that's brought more than a chuckle or two to many (Friendly fire isn't, incoming has right of way, if the enemy is in range so are you, etc.).

      While I'm checking the fellow out, the woman next in line couldn't help but hear & interjected, "Oooooooo! How negative! We should concentrate of positive things!"

      How does one explain "black humor" (Or humor for that matter.) to a fanatic like that? How do you present anything as positive to one bound & determined to find negativity wherever/whenever, & if not find it, make it up? You can't.

      In their quest to stamp out unhappiness they have become the very evil they fight. These humorless trolls see misery wherever they go wether it's there or not. In doing so they grasp at a causeless, artificial state of levity to counter the unhappiness, real or imagined, they have found & must drum it up constantly. In going after the devil, the devil has got them.

                                        Article copyright © 3-29-2011 Jay Agan

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