Stand-up comedians, the good ones, are the philosophers of our time. There are people working in other realms that make us think, but it’s my belief that comics are pushing the walls of our minds open and forcing us to see things in new ways.
Remember a couple of years ago when Louis CK’s rant on Letterman went viral? It was titled, Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy. He went on about a guy who was whining on a plane flight because he couldn’t get wifi and the movies stopped playing because something broke. Months after that video made the rounds and everyone nodded in agreement that we take amazing things for granted, Louis admitted that the idiot on board the plane was him. He was the one who whined about the late flight and the technology breaking down, perhaps not in words, but in his own mind. So he decided to mock himself in his routine.
The ability to change one’s mind is a powerful tool and it’s not taught in school. Most people, I believe, don’t do it. They react to something and then go with that reaction as if it’s the only way to view it. Suggesting an alternate viewpoint elicits a response that assumes you just don’t get it. Unless a person is ill like, say, Robin Williams, a change in viewpoint is a life-changing weapon in life’s arsenal. The situation doesn’t change. It won’t. But viewing it in a more positive or useful light is simply better for you.
Louis CK hasn’t stopped making sense by any stretch. He’s as brilliant as any comedian that’s ever grabbed a microphone. I could give you dozens of examples of moments that moved me on his show, Louis, but this is a meme that’s making the rounds right now and it’s indicative of, I think, the way kids need to be talked to. In this scene, Louis is giving his TV daughter the gift of learning how to change her perspective.
Comedians, are the windows into our souls and a reflection on the darkest reaches of our minds who through the venue of comedy allow us to express our truest thoughts, feelings in a way and manner that it provokes thought, not anger. For its through thought, that things will and can often lead to change within ourselves.