You have to learn to laugh at life, not because it is the right thing to do, but because it will make you lighthearted, and therefore much less likely to fall prey to the ravaging beast of despair. Despair plagues America more so than any other wealthy nation in the world. Everyone is so miserable because everyone is so damn serious. Even the humor in America is used as a political battering ram, not as a way to make others laugh. Earlier today I found myself being lectured by Trevor Noah about China. Noah was going on about the imperialist implications of Chinese colonialism, which is not really the funniest of topics. Yet I hear tell that Trevor Noah was once a standup comedian who was actually pretty funny. The Daily Show also used to be funny; I remember laughing for hours on end while watching Jon Stewart. But now the show is so damn serious I feel like I’m watching an old episode of 60 Minutes. Seriously though, why do we have to be so serious all of the time? Is it a requirement or something? Must we be dull? Does every news network have to fixate over the leader of China? Is there really nothing else to talk about but communism? Politics in general is a joke. Why not make fun of it for crying out loud? They give you the material for free for fuck’s sake. I mean, I get it. I get it. Times are tough, but times are always tough. That is why we have humor; that is why we laugh at our problems instead of stressing ourselves out by overanalyzing them. We must learn to laugh again. We must make American politics funny again. Enough with this ridiculous melodrama. Modern day American politics reads much like a nineties soap opera. Will Ted Cruz finally find his testicles today? Will Rand Paul say yet another bat shit crazy thing and get away with it? Will the Supreme Court finally outlaw sex? Find out next time on the Dumb and the Feckless. You have to laugh. You have to smile. You have to because if you don’t, then you will be sad, sadder than you have ever been in your entire life, and you will forget the joy of laughter, the comfort that it brings. Stop trying to make everything so goddamn serious; it ain’t that serious. Life is a joke. Learn to laugh at it. Learn to take in stride. If someone tries to get you down, just laugh at them, or at least tell some jokes that aren't so damn boring. Nothing in life can be taken seriously, even death. Funerals should not be a time for mourning, but for celebration. Sure, a wonderful person is now gone, but they are also no longer in pain, and the person who is gone now lives within you. You should not tarnish their memory with sadness. You should celebrate their amazing life by using their memory spread joy and love to all who need it. They would have wanted that. No one who passes away wants their loved ones to suffer for it. That is what you want, but it is not always about what you want. Losing one's career can be quite painful; there is nothing more miserable than watching a dream die. But dreams are born from laughter. A child gets great joy from building and creating. A dream is your creation. You must learn to laugh again so that you can resurrect your dreams, so that they can rise again from the tomb of grief. Grief has its place, but grief does not have to be miserable; it does not have to send you into despair. Despair has no place in life; it must be left for the dead. I slept in a car. I have been terribly ill. I have lost loved ones. I have lost careers. I have lost friends. There were days where I thought I might starve. I got through it all by laughing. Do not be afraid to let go of your pain. Send your misery on its way with a joyous laugh. Laugh out loud when the tears well in your eyes. Dance when you tremble with fear. Sing a joyous song in spite of your melancholy woes. I know it is difficult, but so is life, and if you hate difficulty, then you hate your life as well. Embrace difficulty. Enjoy pain. Laugh.Every Brave New Word needs a bit of Antic Hay.